


Were-woof

by UnderZeWeather



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Hunk (Voltron) is a Ray of Sunshine, Hunting, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Keith's Wolf (Voltron) - Freeform, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Pidge | Katie Holt is Savage, Romantic Comedy, Smut, Werewolf Keith (Voltron), Werewolf Lance (Voltron), many dog jokes, so many dog jokes, transformations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:40:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 44
Words: 133,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21744664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnderZeWeather/pseuds/UnderZeWeather
Summary: Living off the grid is one thing. Keith had been doing it his whole life. However, now that the mountain he has lived on his whole live is slowly being developed thanks to a ski resort it's getting harder and harder for Keith to keep to himself. Especially when he happens to catch the eye of a rather cute looking townie.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 1489
Kudos: 781





	1. Mount Altea

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea that I was tossing around with Ashratherose and I really loved the idea so much I ended up writing it. lmao, if you don't like it blame them. They were the ones that helped me with this and inspired most of the shenanigans. I also kind of wanted to write something lighter when I realised the dark turn my other fan fic is going to take. I need something silly to take the edge off.
> 
> Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

The town of Garrison was a complete tourist trap. It was based around mount Altea and had one of the biggest, fanciest ski resorts this side of the country during ski season. During the off season when most of the snow melted it then became a hot spot for hikers. There were many shops around the resort and everyone loved all the fancy little knick knacks and niche things that were there.

But that was just the businesses close to the resort. There were still lots of families around the town, though they were a little bit away from the resort. Before the resort was built there were several families that lived off the grid. The kind of people that made their own houses out in the woods, hunted their own food, and filtered their own water. Most families modernized themselves when the resort was built and got jobs there, along with some other houses.

However, Keith was not one of those people. Ever since he was born he’d been living off the grid. Hell he wasn’t even born in a hospital. From what he had been told his parents they had been walking to their car to get to the hospital, but Keith wanted out then and there and their the second his mum stepped outside the house. He was born outside at the tail end of fall. 

He had grown up around more people that lived off the grid like his parents and considered them his family, though he was pretty sure that he wasn’t related to any of them by blood. Keith didn’t mind though. They were nice and taught him many survival skills.

One of his many uncles, Kolivan, taught him how to skin rabbits when he was ten and gave Keith two dollars for every pelt he could sell to a tanner in town. Kolivan was like the de facto leader or elder of everyone living off the grid in the mountain. If they had trouble they went to Kolivan. If locals got into fights with tourists they would go to Kolivan before calling the Sheriff. Some of the townies joked that he was the unofficial mayor of mount Altea.

Keith could understand that. Kolivan was a giant of a man that just demanded respect when he walked by. He often took care of Keith when his parents needed to go off the mountain in the next town to get some work when Keith was growing up. It happened sometimes, but neither Keith nor Kolivan, or Kolivan’s partner, Antok, seemed to mind.

In fact, most of the people living off the grid didn’t seem to mind looking after Keith from time to time. He ended up going from cabin to cabin when his parents were away. Everyone was always more than happy to feed the younger boy or help him out with his school work when he needed it. He was pretty much the only child among their group so the adults felt a little protective of him.

It made his school life kind of interesting. Keith technically grew up poor. His family pretty much only got money to pay for things like clothes or petrol for their generator, so they went to thrift shops a lot. Keith didn’t mind, but he did end up getting teased a lot because of his clothes and his perceived level of poverty… So Keith ended up beating the shit out of a lot of people and got into a lot of trouble both at school and with Kolivan.

Things had gotten better after Keith graduated high school, his group wouldn’t let him drop it. During hunting seasons he’d sell excess meat to the local butchers and pelts to the tanners. When he couldn’t sell anything he’d do odd jobs for people around town. Usually pest extermination. He had a bit of a reputation for being this scary loner type of guy. Keith didn’t really care what people thought of him as long as they paid him.

The only townie that Keith kind of liked was a man called Shiro. A local dog trainer. He had trained most of the dogs that the local police used for search and rescue. He was a good man and didn’t treat Keith with contempt like most of the other townies. It was early in the day when Keith walked to Shiro’s house, just on the edge of the fancy new houses before the road became dirt, and knocked on the door.

Shiro opened the door and happily let them in. “Hey Keith. Nice day, huh?”

Keith nodded and walked inside. He handed a paper bag to Shiro. “Dog treats.” He muttered. “Made some this morning and thought you would like them.”

Shiro looked into the bag and took out a small shard of dried meat, giving it a little sniff. “What is it?”

“Rabbit and some deer.” Said Keith. “Antok gave me a few slices of deer a few months ago and I turned it into jerky. I know you like using it for your training and stuff so…”

“I appreciate it.” Shiro put it in his kitchen and turned on the kettle. “Coffee or tea?”

“Coffee. Black. Like my soul.”

“I thought you said you wanted coffee, not warm milk?” Keith shot him a glare and Shiro laughed as he continued to make them coffee. When it was made the two of them sat outside on the landing. “So… You got a job today?”

“Yeah. Some old couple thinks a fox or something is getting into their backyard. I’m going to have a look around and see what’s there.” Said Keith. “Any tracks, droppings, stuff like that.”

Shiro nodded as Keith talked. “Sounds good… Full moon tonight.”

“Yep.”

“Wolves are going to be out.”

“Yep.”

“... You going for a run tonight?”

Keith shrugged. “I might. Probably just going to stay home. Last time I went for a run during a full moon I fell down a hill and sprained my wrist. Don’t want to do something stupid like that again.”

“Okay… Just be careful. Okay?”

“I will.” Keith finished his coffee. “Do you know where Smith street is?”

“Is that where your job is today?”

“Yeah.”

“Go down to the Sheriffs and it’s two streets past the KFC. If you get to that huge redwood of the corner of Warren road, you’ve gone too far.”

“Got it.” Keith passed Shiro the cup and headed out. It would take him about twenty minutes to get from Shiro’s place to the Sheriffs and from there another fifteen to make it to the redwood on Warren road.

He walked through the town, past the rows of shops. Some of the townspeople getting their shops ready for the day. Keith made eye contact with a few people but they quickly went about ignoring him.

When he passed the Sheriff’s office he happened to see Antok talking to Sheriff Iverson. Iverson never really liked him. Well, Iverson was an asshole. So what if Keith used to shoplift when he was younger? He literally stole candy bars and packets of chips when he was just a small brat. He couldn’t always have snacks and he wanted them.

Antok finished talking with Iverson and walked over to Keith. “Hey there pup. Early start for you?” 

Keith pouted at being called a pup. “I’m okay. Kolivan gave me a job yesterday.”

“Ah yes. I was there with Kolivan when he was talking to the townie.”

“Yeah. How did he find him anyway?”

Antok shrugged. “Same way Kolivan finds most of us work. He happened to overhear someone talking in a pub and intervened. You’re not interested in the work?”

“No, I want the work.” Reassured Keith. “It’s just weird having him show up while I’m skinning a rabbit and he just tells me I have a job tomorrow for a townie.”

“You’re always skinning animals.”

“... True, anyway, what did the law want?”

“Some of the newer townies haven’t been happy about the wolves in the area. Iverson wants us to try and deter them from coming back.” Said Antok coldly. “This is a mountain town in a forest. What did those stupid townies expect?”

Keith shrugged. “No idea.”

“Yeah. You joining us for tonight’s run?”

Keith shook his head. “I’m going to pass. I don’t want to get caught up in all the crazy. You guys always baby me.”

“That’s because you are a pup.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Whatever. See you around Antok. Don’t scare any townies on the walk back.” The older man nodded and started to head back to his home. Keith was about to head off when he heard someone quickly walking towards him. Keith quickly looked over his shoulder to see Sheriff Iverson marching towards him.

“Kogane!” He barked.

Keith just sighed and stood still while the older man stormed over to him. Time for the daily verbal shake down. “Yes Sheriff?”

“What exactly are you doing with that?” He was pointing to the knife strapped to Keith’s hip.

“My hunting knife?” Keith always walked around with his knife. He was only in town for a about an hour before heading back home. He never took it out when it town. It was a vital tool he used when he was out in the forest. Saved his life many times.

“Don’t be smart with me!” He snapped. “Where are you going?”

“Kolivan said I had a job in town.” Said Keith calmly. “He gave me an address and told me to go there. From what Kolivan said it might be a fox in their backyard. I’m just going to see what is there and go from there. That is all.”

The man leaned in a little closer to Keith, trying to intimidate him. “Get moving. If one person calls in telling me you’ve caused trouble you’re getting put in the slammer till someone pays your bail.”

“Yes Sheriff. Understood.” Said Keith calmly before he quickly walked away. The man was an asshole and just made life difficult for everyone in his group because they wouldn’t join everyone else and start living on the grid.

Keith eventually made his way to Smith street and found number fifteen. It was a house that had been there for a while, but still new enough that the paint of the fence hadn’t peeled yet. Keith just hoped whoever Kolivan had gotten this job from wasn't going to freak out when he saw him. It had happened before. A housewife hadn’t been told he was coming over and she screamed at him before calling the cops. Keith was almost arrested before the husband and Kolivan interviened.

He nervously knocked on the door and waited. Seconds later an older Latino looking man opened the door. Keith might have seen him a few times around town, but he wasn’t sure. The man gave him a scrutinizing look as Keith awkwardly stood there.

“What is your name?” Asked the man in a thick accent. Definitely from some Spanish speaking country.

“Keith.” Said Keith as he took a piece of paper out of his pocket. “Kolivan said that a…Julio McClain had a pest problem for me?”

The man nodded. “Si, I did talk to Kolivan last night. Just didn’t expect you to be so… young? Anyway if you can solve this problem, I don’t mind. Come in. Come in.”

Keith quietly followed Julio into his house. There were lots of photos of children around. Julio must have had a huge family. Probably all grown up now. The house was much too small to have all those kids living in here. They walked past the kitchen and Julio introduced Keith to his wife Rosa. She smiled at him and also commented that Keith looked really young.

After that Keith talked to them a little about what had been happening. What they had seen, heard, or even smelled. From what they had told him it wasn’t a fox like he thought it might have been. Sounded more like a raccoon or a possum. Especially since they talked about hearing noises in the roof.

Keith ended up climbing into the roof and found a hole in the roof. Big enough for an animal to crawl through. From the stink in the small space Keith felt certain that it was a possum. Possibly a male just trying to find a warm place to sleep. It wasn't the right time for the local possums to start getting knocked up and popping out babies yet.

He told Julio of his findings and recommended that he fix his roof as soon as possible, and if there is any other problems just ask around for Kolivan and Keith will come back and fix it for free.

The couple was thankful for his help. They gave Keith some money and he was about to leave when Rosa sat him down at the table and got him a plate of food. Apparently Rosa wanted to make him something to eat to also thank him for his help. Keith was used to people in his group trading favours for food, but not townies. However he accepted and ate.

“Thank you Mrs McClain.” He said quietly. “This is really nice. Thank you.”

She smiled as she sat across from him and drank a coffee. “Don’t mention it. You did this for less than half of what it would have cost for an exterminator to come out.”

Julio nodded in agreement. “Si. Feeding you is the least we could do.”

Keith nodded and happily munched on some toast. “I appreciate it… So how long have you lived here? Not very long I’m assuming?”

“About a year.” Said Rosa. “One of our sons lives up here and told us how nice it was. We looked into it and decided to move here. It’s a lovely place to live out our retirement.”

“Yeah. It is pretty nice here.” Keith finished his plate. “Thank you again for the food. If you two ever need anything just ask Kolivan or Antok. We’ll usually have someone around to help you in about a day depending on where the person is.”

“Where they are?” Asked Julio. 

Keith nodded. “Yeah. My group is pretty spread out across the mountain. Most of us begrudgingly have gotten mobile phones, but reception can be spotty around places.”

The front door suddenly opened up and a young man walked in. “Mama, pop-pop! I’m here!” A young man walked into the room. His was tanned and his eyes were a calming blue. His hair was dark chocolate in colour. He paused when he saw Keith at the table. “You!”

“Me?” Did this person recognize him from somewhere?

“You’re the guy I caught dumpster diving behind the cafe last winter!”

Keith frowned as he tried to remember what he was talking about. Keith didn’t usually dumpster dive unless it was for cardboard. Suddenly he remembered. He pretty much exclusively got his cardboard from the ski resort during Winter since there was always to much of it. “... I was taking cardboard? You guys already cut it up and weren’t going to use it. I needed more dry kindling. Are you one of the jerks that started pouring water on it after you caught me for the rest of winter?”

Julio frowned and said something to his son in Spanish. Rosa joined in too and Keith started to feel awkward. He was asking a genuine question and had apparently gotten this guy in trouble. The young man spoke back in rapid Spanish. Keith couldn’t follow.

Suddenly the rapid Spanish stopped and Rosa sighed. “So sorry about that. This is our youngest. Lance. Lance, this is Keith. He’s been helping us with our animal problem.”

“Oh, thanks man. I was gonna call an exterminator.”

Keith frowned when he said that. “Don’t do that. The local exterminator isn’t humane. If you have animal troubles I’ll do it cheaper and won’t poison the local wildlife.”

“We’ll keep that in mind.” Said Rosa. “Do you need a lift anywhere?”

Keith shook his head. “No thanks. I have a few errands I need to run. Thank you again for the food.”

He said goodbye to the McClain’s and quickly left their house. When he next spoke to Kolivan he’d let them know that the McClain’s were good people and they should accept more work from them if they asked… Even if their son was one of the townies that worked at the resort. The people that worked there were generally assholes to him and everyone else that lived off the grid.

***

The rest of the day was pretty calm for Keith. He went home, grabbed some more rabbit jerky and dropped off a bag of it at the Holt’s vet clinic. The receptionist, the youngest Holt, Pidge happily took the rabbit jerky from him, claimed a few pieces for herself, and dumped the rest into a jar labeled dog treats.

The jerky wasn’t strictly dog food, but he found that dogs liked it more than people. He was happy that at least some people liked what he was doing with his time. He got paid for the bag and headed back home.

He walked down the dirt road and down the dirt path back down to his cabin. For the rest of the day he went about preparing some more animals he had left in his meat locker. As he worked a few people from his group walked by and asked him if he had heard about what Iverson said about wolves in the area. They also asked him if he was going to go for a run with them. Keith kept declining. He didn’t want to go for a run.

By the time dusk settled in Keith was starting to settle in for the night. He had his radio playing in the background. Some local rock station. Something he liked to listen to it when he went about his night. It was kind of comforting. His dad used to play the radio all the time when he was home. Sometimes a little louder on nights when they would go for a run.

Keith was about to settle down in bed for the night when he heard a knock at his door. He had a good idea of who it was and went to answer it. It was Kolivan. “Hey Kolivan.”

“Hello Keith. I heard you aren’t going for a run tonight? This makes three runs in a row. Why?”

Keith shrugged. “I just can’t keep up with you guys. You’re faster than me and I’d just… I’d rather not.”

Kolivan frowned. He didn’t look very pleased by this. “No. Not acceptable. Tomorrow you’re joining us on a run. No exceptions.”

“... Yes Kolivan.” He couldn’t say no to Kolivan if he said it like that. “I’ll be outside and waiting tomorrow night.”

“Good.” 

“Yeah… Oh, by the way, the McClain’s are good people.” Said Keith. “If they need our help we should do what we can.”

Kolivan nodded as Keith spoke. “Good. I’ll let the others know. Have a good night Keith.”

“You too Kolivan.” He watched the older man walk off and he quickly closed the door. When he was gone Keith went to his bedroom and laid down on his bed. He was starting to feel a dull aching in his bones. Any second now it would start. Dusk was practically over. Now it was the night.

His window was cracked open just a little and he heard the sound of nature. Then he heard the first howl. It was quickly followed by a second and a third and a fourth. More and more howls traveling on the wind and ringing in his ears.

Keith’s heart started to race and the dull ache in his bones started to become more and more painful. His skin started to itch and his gums started burning. He started to writhe on his mattress and ended up rolling off his bed. Keith ended up panting heavily as he laid on the ground. He felt sick, but he knew it would pass it always did.

The truth was Keith had a secret. Him and the rest of his group weren’t human. They hadn’t been human for a long, long time. They were part of the Lupine branch. Most commonly known as werewolves. A proud branch of creatures that were forced to change by the will of the moon. It rendered them into monstrous creatures that were more dog than man but more man than dog. The stuff of nightmares...

Then there was Keith. He was… Special. While his mother might have been a pure werewolf, his father was not… Which had a strange affect on Keith’s transformation. He wasn’t as tall or as muscular as the other werewolves in his group, but he felt what he lacked in size, he made up for in attitude.

With a small huff Keith wiggled out of his clothes and kicked them aside. He stretched out and climbed up onto his bed to look at himself in the mirror. Because of his father’s human heritage Keith didn’t look much like a wolf or even remotely close to those in his pack. He was small, fluffy and black. Domesticated. He was Keith Kogane. The were-pomeranian.


	2. Care boxes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith is a very grumpy dog boy the after turning into a werewolf, but has to keep being nice to the townies... So guess who gets roped into doing stuff he doesn't want to when he gets asked to show some townie around the woods? And guess which townie gets forced to walk around all day with a scary Keith after their friends rope them into it? The answer might surprise you. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Lance loved living on mount Altea. He worked at a local coffee shop in the town and when Winter hit his manager opened the seasonal shop at the resort and Lance would work there. It was fun. Lance loved the change of scenery and change of people. Sure it was fun to work in town, but Lance needed change. The tourist town of Garrison gave him that.

He lived in a small cottage style house. One of the older ones around in a slightly older part of town. Lance liked it. It was simple and pretty cheap. He quickly assimilated into the town and made friends. His closest friends were Hunk, a local baker, and Pidge, a receptionist and vet at her family's clinic.

Apart from them Lance felt he was generally liked around the town. People were really friendly and they were always smiling and waving at him. Everyone knew everyone. Lance enjoyed this life. 

However there was a group of people that Lance was a little uneasy around. The bush people. They didn’t come to town much, but when they did it was very noticeable. They pretty much only wore thrift store clothes or things they made themselves. He was pretty sure he once saw one of them walking around wearing a raccoon skin vest. They were pretty scary, but they kept to themselves and were known to help around town. He’s smile and nod at them when he happened to see them and they would nod back at him out of respect. 

He was uneasy to see them, but he didn’t feel threatened. It was a strange feeling, but he kind of felt safe when they were around? He didn’t know why. Pidge had said it was just because they were a fixture in the mountain. As long as the bush people were there then mountain was healthy, but if they were gone, then there was something very wrong.

During lunch time Lance slipped into the vet clinic where Pidge was eating a sandwich at the front desk. She saw him and grinned. “Matt! I’m taking lunch! Man the desk!”

The two of them walked outside and sat on the stone fence outside the clinic. A few minutes later Hunk walked over and handed out sandwiches made from his shop. It was always the best food when Hunk made it.

As they ate Lance felt he had to talk to them about Keith. “So… You guys know the bush people and stuff? Know a guy called Keith?”

Pidge nodded as she bit into her beef roll. “Yeah. Keith’s like, fourth generation bush person. His parents were bush people and his grandparents and his great grandparents. He drops of rabbit jerky dog treats once a week at the clinic. Why? Did he do something to you?”

Lance shook his head. “No. He helped my parents with their pest problem. They’re getting the hole in their roof fixed.”

“Keith’s good with that stuff.” Said Hunk. “We used to have a raccoon problem in town. Two weeks of him checking the alleyways at night and they haven’t been back since… Then some of the bush people started wearing a lot more stuff made from raccoon skins… Yeah...”

“Okay… He seems pretty young.” Said Lance. “Are there any other young bush people around here?”

Pidge shook her head. “Not that I know of. As far as I know Keith’s the youngest.”

“Huh, okay.”

As they continued to talk Shiro happened to walk towards them with Keith following him. Lance liked Shiro. He was a nice and friendly guy. Always happy, easy to be around, and if Lance was honest he was a total snack. He came around to the clinic a few times a week to do some dog training in the puppy school they had there. As far as he knew Keith didn’t come with Shiro to help at the puppy school.

“Hey guys.” He said as he waved. “Lunch time?”

“Yep.” Said Hunk. “You two setting up for the puppy school?”

Shiro nodded. “Yeah, well I am. Keith just happened to be walking the same way I was.” He lightly patted Keith’s shoulder. Keith grunted in annoyance. “You guys enjoy your day. We’re still on for dinner tonight Keith?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool. I’ll be there around dusk.” He waved at the group and quickly walked into the clinic.

Keith awkwardly stood around them for a few minutes. “Um… So how’s life on the grid?” 

Pidge shrugged. “Indoor plumbing is pretty sweet. Don’t have to take a shit in an outhouse. How’s life off the grid?”

“Same old, same old.” Said Keith. “Still shitting in an outhouse. Do you guys need more rabbit jerky or are you still good?”

“We’re good.” Said Pidge.

As they talked Lance noticed that Keith was wearing a backpack and it was kind of bulging. Looked like it was going to burst at the seams. “... What are you doing today?”

Keith shrugged. “Kolivan’s got me walking around and restocking the care boxes in this area.”

“Those orange boxes?” Asked Hunk.

Keith nodded. “Yep.”

“What’s a care box?” Asked Lance.

Keith looked at Lance in confusion for a few seconds before shaking his head and muttering to himself. “Townies… Sometimes when we’re out things go bad. We could get lost, injured, anything. We have a few dozen care boxes set up around the mountain. Once every three months we go around and check them and resupply them with food, water, maps, first aid stuff and a few flare sticks.”

“Haven’t you seen the boxes?” Pidge asked Lance.

Lance shook his head. He might have lived on the mountain for a few years but he hadn’t gone and really explored it that much. He was kind of worried about running into a bush person and they turned out to be a serial killer, thank you horror movies, or he ran into a wolf and got killed by that.

“Why don’t you take Lance with you?” Suggested Hunk.

Keith glared at him. “I’m not a tour guide for townies! This is actually life or death stuff here!”

Pidge rolled her eyes and lightly kicked him in the shin. “Bullshit. You’ve taken people out before. Don’t be a bitch. Just show Lance what a care box looks like so he’ll know what it is when the dumbass eventually gets lost.”

Keith glared at her for a few seconds before he turned his attention back to Lance. “Get up. We’re going now.” He growled.

Lance jumped a little in surprise and quickly looked between his friends and Keith. What had he just been roped into? And on his day off too? He reluctantly got up and followed Keith. He really hoped that he wasn’t going to suddenly get killed.

“We’re going to my house first.” Said Keith. “Since you’re here I might as well make use of you.”

Lance had no idea what this meant and he was going to murder his supposed friends for making him do this. They walked down the road and it quickly went from paved road to dirt. Then Keith walked off the road and down an invisible path. Lance followed him. They walked a small way into the woods and rounded a large rock. 

Obscured by the rock was a log cabin. It looked pretty decently built too. Probably big enough for two people. It looked homey and kind of like something out of a story book. Sure he lived in an old cottage, but this looked properly hand made. Not all the logs were uniform and the stones that made chimney were all misshapen and wonky. On the front door was a burn mark in the shape of a wolves paw.

“... Is this where you live?” Asked Lance.

Keith nodded. “Yep. This is my house… What? Not as fancy as your place?”

“Well, no, but I like it. What do you need me to do?”

“Wait out here.” Keith walked inside and a few minutes later he passed Lance a heavy backpack. There had to be glass in there from the clinking. “Put this on. We’re going past their place anyway.”

Lance just nodded and did what he was told. The bag was really heavy and he begrudgingly walked with Keith. He didn’t really know what to talk about with Keith. He probably didn’t have much in common with Keith since they clearly didn’t have the same experiences growing up.

“So um… the other day...” He began.

“Yeah?”

“... The whole cardboard thing… That wasn’t me that was dumping water on it. It was one of the seasonal workers at the resort. Some guy called James.”

“... James Griffin?”

“Yeah. You know him?”

“I went to high school with him.” Said Keith calmly. “I punched him in the face once and knocked out his two front teeth. So he doesn’t like me.”

“... Understandable.” Well that was unexpected. “Why did you punch him?”

“Griffin always picked on me for one reason or another. I think he said something about my mum being a whore in the next town to make money.”

“Ah…”

They walked down to a long log cabin. There were a bunch of chickens running around in their own coop. They squwaked and clucked like crazy. Lance thought it was kind of silly but jumped when he heard Keith growl at them.

The door to the cabin opened up and a disheveled looking man with wild hair stumbled out. He looked like he had a rough night. He looked at Keith and Lance for a few seconds before he ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to neaten it up a little. It didn’t really work and the man ended up looking like he had pointed cat ears on his head.

“Morning Keith.”

“It’s the afternoon Thace.”

Thace just waved him off. “I had a rough night. Cut me some slack. Who’s the townie?”

“Lance. He’s fine.”

Thace nodded at Lance and turned his attention back to Keith. “So do you have it?”

“Yep.” Keith took Lance’s backpack off him and dug around in it till he found two jars. He tossed them at Thace who easily caught them. “One jar deer jerky. One jar peach moonshine.”

Thace took the lid off the jar and gave it a little sniff and a sip. He coughed a little and quickly capped it again. “Antok always makes the good shit. You on care box duty today?”

“Yep.”

“Okay. Won’t keep you waiting. Get it done before the run tonight. Kolivan told us you’re not getting out of it.”

“... I know.”

They left the cabin, found a trail and ended up walking down that. Lance had several questions now. “Isn’t moonshine illegal?”

Keith shrugged. “Only if we try to make a profit from it. We only make it for ourselves and give it out as gifts. Antok makes it really strong so it would probably kill someone if they drink a jar in one go.”

“Right…”

After a few minutes of walking in silence they got to their first care box. It was a neon orange colour and nailed to a tree. Keith took off his bag, opened the box, and started replacing some of the food and checking that the water bottles hadn’t been opened.

They did this to two more boxes before they got to a small house made mostly from stones. A tall, gaunt, thin man was laying herbs out flat on a metal rack over a fire. He had a blackeye and a split lip. 

“Ulaz? What happened?” Asked Keith as he quickly walked over to the man.

Said man shrugged and put his hand on Keith’s head. “During the run last night I ran into Antock and fell down a hill. It was my fault. I’m okay.”

“Well that’s good.”

He looked over at Lance. “And you’re a townie?”

“Lance.” He said. “Just helping Keith out with boxes and stuff.”

Ulaz nodded and Keith went about taking two jars of moonshine out of the backpack Lance was carrying and handed it to Ulaz. The man seemed to inspect the quality of the jars, but didn’t open or taste them like Thace did. He held it up to the sun and hummed approvingly. “Send my regards to Antok. It’s as clear as water. Tell Regris he did a good job fixing the distiller.” He handed Keith a bundle of dried herbs tied in twine.

Keith nodded and put the herbs into his own backpack. “Will do. Bye Ulaz.”

“Goodbye Keith. See you at the run tonight.”

The two of them walked to what Keith said was the last care box. There wasn’t anything to change there and Keith walked back to his house with Keith following him. They didn’t see any other bush people around. When they got there Keith took the bag off of Lance and gave him a strange look.

“... Do you want something to eat or drink?” He asked.

Lance was a little surprised but nodded. “Oh, okay. Sure. Water is good.”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “What? Not going to try the moonshine? I was going to pour myself a shot while I start making dinner.”

“... But it’s so early in the day?”

Keith shrugged. “I have to start cooking now so it’s ready by nightfall.”

“Okay. I guess I’ll have a go.”

“Good. Stay out here.” He pointed to a couple of large stumps near a stack of wood against the house. “Roll one of those over to the fire pit and sit there.” After that he walked inside and Lance did as he was told.

“...” What the actual fuck was he doing? He did not expect to spend his afternoon with some random guy out in the middle of the forest to look at care boxes. After a while Keith came out with a basket filled with different vegetables and a rabbit.

Keith rolled his own stump over to the fire pit. Once he settled down he took out two paper cups, the kind that he’d usually use at the cafe to pour a short black. He was pretty sure that Keith might have taken them out of the recycling a few weeks ago. He poured the two of them some moonshine and offered one to Lance.

Lance took it and looked down at the liquid. It did look like water, but definitely smelled like alcohol. He glanced over at Keith and saw him quickly knock it back like he was taking a shot of whisky, so he did the same. It tasted like cough syrup with a sharp alcoholic bite and a peach after taste. It left him coughing.

As he sputtered Keith chuckled and started to light a fire in the pit. “Told you it was strong.”

“Yeah… You guys actually like this stuff?”

“Antok experiments with different things. This batch isn’t as good as last time.” When the fire was going Keith started peeling the vegetables and dropping them into a pot. Then he got to the rabbit. It only had its back legs sticking out at the time and Lance didn’t notice the rabbit was headless and gutted, but still had all its fur. Before Lance could say anything Keith got out his hunting knife and with a few well placed slices he ripped the hide right off the rabbit in one clean piece.

“Holy shit…”

Keith didn’t even look at him and he started to butcher the rest of the body to make it fit in the pot. “What? Let me guess, never skilled a rabbit before?”

“No.”

“Figured.”

Lance huffed a little but let Keith keep doing what he was doing. He was the guy with the knife after all. “So…”

“Yeah?”

“What’s this run thing you all are talking about?”

Keith froze for a few seconds before he went back to preparing his food. “It’s just a thing we do like once or twice a month. We get together, talk about what's happening on the mountain, and go for a run around to try and make sure that no predators have moved into the mountain too close to Garrison. A lot of the new townies don’t like us doing it because they think we’re scary. Iverson talked to Kolivan about it and we didn’t go for a run one month.”

“What happened?”

“A lot of bins were knocked over, fences were destroyed. General property damage from animals coming in and doing what they wanted. Iverson apologized the next day and people don’t say shit when we go for runs anymore.” Said Keith calmly.

“Ah okay.” Lance stared down at the cup in his hands and nervously fiddled with it. This was not how he was expecting to spend his day. “Um… I should probably head home soon…”

“Go ahead.” Said Keith.

“Um…”

“...”

“...”

“You don’t know the way back to town from here do you?” Asked Keith in a deadpan tone.

“Not a clue.”

Keith sighed and stood up. “Okay, come on, I’ll help you back.”

“Thanks.” The two of them walked back to town. Keith stopping when the dirt road became paved again and stopped. “Um, thanks again for today. It was interesting. Didn’t expect to drink moonshine and go off walking in the woods.”

Keith shrugged. “Whatever. Go home and don’t come out tonight. There will be wolves about.”

“Um okay. See you around town Keith… I um, I have the late night shift at the cafe I work at this week. If you need some cups or like want a drink or something you can come in and I’ll make you something. It’s no problem.”

Keith looked surprised for a moment before he suddenly became very, very angry. “I don’t need a fucking hand out you fucking townie!” He snapped. “Fuck off! I can survive without your shitty drinks! FUCK OFF AND DIE ALREADY!”

Lance was shocked. He didn’t expect that kind of response from Keith. He kind of just watched as Keith stomped off back into the woods. He thought he was being nice to him. Keith gave him moonshine and he just… Apparently offering to buy Keith a drink was the wrong thing to say.

***

Keith was pissed. After transforming he was always grumpy and angry the next day. Everyone in the pack was. Everyone was always hungry, tired, itchy and just didn’t like being around people. He wanted to be alone but Pidge told him to take that townie Lance with him while he was working. He wanted to keep a good business relationship with the Holt’s so he took Lance with him.

The townie liked to talk about nothing and seemed really out of his element. But at least he was able to hand out Antok’s moonshine to Thace and Ulaz. He’d missed it the other day… But then Lance had to act like he was some poor fuck that wouldn’t even buy his own cup of coffee. It was bullshit. He hated it. Keith wasn’t poor. He had money. He just didn’t need to spend it.

Keith and been thinking about this for hours and gave himself an intense headache by the time Shiro came around. He brought around a six pack and handed one to the grumpy werewolf before he sat by him.

Shiro wasn’t part of his pack. He and their pack had a mutual respect for each other. Shiro was a descendant of a long line of supernatural hunters, specializing in wolf creatures. As long as his pack didn’t hurt anyone Shiro had no need to hunt them down. Kolivan didn’t allow the hunting of humans or turning the of humans in their pack anyway, so there hadn’t been any problems between them. The man was also the only soul outside of Keith’s pack that knew about his particular transformation.

“You okay?” He asked. “You were a little on edge this morning.”

Keith glared at him and thrusted a bowl of hot rabbit stew at him. “Shut up and eat. We don’t have a lot of time before tonight.”

“You want me to brush your fur or something?” 

Keith rolled his eyes. “Kolivan said I’m going for a run tonight. I can’t refuse.”

“Oh…” 

“Yeah.” The two of them continued to talk until the stew was gone and all the beer was drunk. When the sun had set and the transformation happened Keith huffed in annoyance and started kicking dirt back into the fire to put it out while Shiro put Keith’s clothes back inside his home.

Shiro settled back down on his stump and patted his lap. Keith quickly climbed onto his lap and settled down as he waited for his pack to come by and get him. The particular branch of werewolf that his pack was would probably be considered anthropomorphic. When they were crouched down they looked like normal wolves but if they stood up they would look like someone in a fur suit from a distance. They could even grunt out very simple words if they tried, but they preferred to communicate like their fully canine cousins.

Keith started sniffing around Shiro’s pockets. He could smell food. Shiro had treats on him and he wasn’t sharing. He looked up at Shiro and yipped in annoyance. Shiro just chuckled and took a dog treat out of his pocket.

“You want this?”

 _“Yes! Give it! Hand it over!”_ Yipped Keith as he wagged his tail. He knew Shiro couldn’t understand him, but he was going to bark anyway. _“Hand it over or I’ll bury your arm in your garden again!”_

Shiro chuckled and put Keith down. He took a dog treat out of his pocket and Keith did a quick spin in a circle. “If you want it you have to sit.”

 _“... I am going to take a shit on your welcome mat tonight.”_ Growled Keith as he reluctantly sat down. He still glared daggers at the man though.

Shiro smiled, gave him a treat and patted his head while Keith ate it. "Good boy.”

 _“Damn right I am.”_ Keith rolled onto his back. _“Scratch my chest.”_ Shiro went to rub Keith’s belly, but the pup quickly kicked his hand away and growled. _“I said chest! Not stomach! Chest! Chest!”_

 _“Good to see you’re ready for the run.”_ Rumbled a deep voice. Keith quickly got up and looked around until his eyes fell on a pair of eyes shining in the treeline. It was Antok. He was always tall but in his werewolf form he was a giant. His fur was wild and thick but thinned out in places. He kind of looked like he had mange. Typical among their werewolf type. Another visual warning to stay away and not eat. 

_“Did Kolivan send you?”_ Asked Keith.

 _“Yeah. We should get going.”_ He looked over at Shiro and grunted.

Shiro nodded in Antok’s general direction. “Evening. I’ll just put this stuff inside and then I’ll head on home. You all enjoy your run. Stay away from the townies.”

 _“Thanks Shiro. Bye!”_ Keith quickly ran over towards Antok, who quickly got scooped up in the older wolf’s arms and quickly ran off with him.

They needed to get to Kolivan’s cabin. It was much closer to the ski resort than any of the other houses. It had been there on the mountain long before the town was first formed and it was placed in the only spot that was on stable ground and made mostly of stone. The closer the two wolves to the cabin the more the heavy scent of werewolf grew. Many couldn’t help but scent mark around the trees around Kolivan’s house to how this place was theirs.

There were already several wolves already walking around by the time they got there. They were standing or sitting around waiting for the others to get there. Antok put Keith down and went to talk with Kolivan. Keith watched the two older wolves nuzzle each other. They were sitting on the deck in front of the house and patiently waited for everyone else to arrive.

Keith sighed to himself and sniffed around as he avoided getting stepped on by everyone else. Many wolves started turning up so Keith quickly dashed over to where Kolivan and Antok were.

Kolivan chuckled a little and looked down at Keith. _“You okay there pup?”_

_“I’m going to get stepped on by someone… This is why I don’t like runs. No one notices me.”_

_“It’s okay pup. Everyone is a little strange during the moon for the first hour or so.”_

Keith huffed and hid under the deck. He didn’t like this at all. When runs happened he usually stayed under the deck while everyone was gathering. It was better for him to do this rather than walk out there with everyone else.

After what felt like forever the deck creaked as Kolivan stood up. He tilted his head back and howled. This caused everyone else to howl and sit obediently as Kolivan addressed them. _“Good evening.”_ Said Kolivan in a gravelly voice. _“Before the run starts I want to address something from last night. Apparently some beavers have started making a damn in the river on the west side of the mountain. Keep an eye on that and make sure to scare off any townies that might try and stop them. Remember, this mountain is still ours. This is private property that we allow them to hike through. Understand?”_

There were several huffs of acknowledgement.

 _“I have something to bring up.”_ A female werewolf, Ilun, stood up. _“Some of the townies have started laying out illegal traps. We found a few last night. What do we do?”_

 _“Collect the traps and bring them here.”_ Said Kolivan calmly. _“I’ll give them to the Sheriff tomorrow and warn him to keep their filth off our mountain.”_ The group made sounds of approval. _“Good. Everyone pair up. Remember the rules of the run; stay vigilant, stay safe, stay away from the townies.”_

The werewolves quickly paired up and ran off into the woods. Leaving Keith alone with Kolivan and Antok. The wood of the deck creaked again as the two older werewolves got up. _“Will you be okay?”_ Asked Antok.

_“I’ll be fine… Probably going to stay close to my cabin…”_

Kolivan crouched down and reached under the deck to gently coax Keith out. _“I know you’re small, but you are still a werewolf. You should expand your roaming. This mountain is our mountain. It belongs to our pack. Go hunting. Take down a rabbit. Do something to satisfy your instincts while the moon is at its fullest. You only have three days a month to do this before the moon becomes too small.”_

Keith huffed and walked out. _“I know, I know… Just wish I wasn’t so small...”_

 _“Do you need help getting back home?”_ Asked Antok. _“We’ll be happy to take you.”_

Keith shook his head. _“No thanks. I just use this as my run. Should be back home in about an hour or two.”_

Kolivan nodded. _“Okay. Make it home safely and don’t go into town again.”_

_“... I don’t go into town…”_

The older werewolf glared at Keith and crouched down so they were eye level with each other. Kolivan’s chin was practically pressed against the ground. It was at times like this when they were so close that it reminded Keith of how small he was. Kolivan could eat him in one bite if he wanted to. _“Don’t lie to me pup. Your scent is fresh all over the restaurant areas the next day after a run. Don’t go begging for scraps from humans. What if one of them picks you up and you bite them? You risk turning them into one of us or exposing yourself when the morning comes. Do you really want to risk that?”_

Keith own instincts quickly overtook him and he rolled onto his back. He hated being this submissive around the others in his pack, but he really couldn’t not be submissive around the pack leader. _“... No sir…”_

 _“Good.”_ Kolivan rolled Keith back onto his legs and nudged his back leg. _“Now off you go. Enjoy your run.”_

Keith quickly scampered off into the night and started heading back home. He felt like he was probably the only one out of his whole pack that would just run. Everyone else had small jobs to do during a run. Keith’s only job was to not get taken to the pound by a townie. It was kind of depressing that this was all he could do. He literally had the most basic job that everyone had. This sucked.

As Keith headed down the mountain he caught the scent of something good. He paused for a moment and sniffed the air. It smelt like… Steak. It was stake. How long had it been since Keith had steak? Steak that wasn’t made from a slab of deer? He wanted a slab of beef. A slab of ham. Pork. A leg of lamb. Keith was drooling. The only meat he’d eaten over the past few weeks was rabbit, deer and more rabbit.

Okay, Kolivan did tell him not to go into town but he could smell steak. Keith wanted steak. If it was at a restaurant then Keith could use his charm and cute face to get a little of that tasty meat. Keith couldn’t help himself. When he was a werewolf his eyes were bigger than his stomach and tasty food always won out. Keith quickly changed his direction. He was just going to have a little sniff around. What’s the worst that could happen?


	3. Chipped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, the things Keith does for food. He suffers so much. So much for a little doggo... Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Keith quickly followed the delicious smell of steak all the way to a cottage style house. It smelled so good. It had to have been seasoned with rock salt and pepper. Maybe butter and sage? How long had it been since he had eaten butter? He’d just been using lard for the last few years. He wanted it so bad.

But how to get inside? There were some bins kind of close to a small open window. He might not be a cat, but he could do this. Maybe… He just had to believe in himself and not fuck up. Which was easier said than done.

Keith struggled but he managed to get onto the bin and he was able to put his paws right on the edge of the window and stuck his nose it. It smelt so good. He wanted it so bad.

“-weirdo.” Said a voice inside the house. “Yeah, I was like, what the hell man? I was offering you a free drink. He’s a fucking weirdo.”

Keith huffed a little and jumped up so he could see who was talking. It was that Lance guy on his phone. That delicious steak was wasted on him. But also, who the fuck was he talking to?

“Yes Hunk, I know I probably shouldn’t have said anything, but I was trying to be nice to him. He gave me moonshine.”

Keith huffed a little more. Was Lance talking about him? Where else would he have gotten the moonshine from? Who cared? Keith was going to crawl into his house, eat his food, hide, and escape in the morning when he had thumbs instead of paws… and could actually reach the door handle.

He was about to jump and try to get inside when he heard something make a strange noise behind him. It was the sound of a familiar foe. Something that had been the bane of his existence for almost a year now.

He stood on top of the bin and looked down at the masked bastard grinning up at him with its stupid eyes, little thieving hands, and bushy tail. The common raccoon. The raccoon growled at him.

Keith just rolled his eyes. _“Fuck off shit lord. I will fucking eat you if you even try to get your fat ass up here.”_

The raccoon gave him a weird look before it tried to climb up onto the bin. Keith growled at it and nipped at its little goblin hands when it tried to pull itself up. Keith hated raccoons. They were just as small as him, but the fuckers had hands. Why couldn’t he had just been a smaller version of his pack’s wolf form? He could then at least pick the fucking rat bastard up and throw him over the fence.

 _“Last chance fucker. Piss off or you’re dead.”_ The raccoon reached up and scratched his nose. _“That’s it! You’re fucking dead!”_

Keith jumped down and attacked the raccoon as best as he could. Lots of biting, scratching, and kicking on the part of both animals. They were rolling around in the grass, making lots of noise. They rolled into the bin a few times and eventually knocked it over.

Suddenly the outside lights came on and the two animals froze. Seconds later Lance was outside with a broom and a torch. The raccoon bolted for it and Keith attempted to to the same, but immediately tripped and ran into the bin lid.

_“FUCK!”_

“Hey little guy.” Said Lance in a soothing voice. “You okay there?” Keith attempted to make himself look intimidating by baring his teeth at Lance and trying to puff himself up. But he that did nothing. Lance just smiled at him. “It’s okay little guy. You don’t have to be scared of me. I won’t hurt you.”

Keith was hesitant, but did calm down a little. Lance didn’t seem to be like the kind of guy that would kick a dog. Suddenly Keith was wrapped up in a jacket and was getting carried inside the house.

 _“BASTARD!”_ Screamed Keith. _“LET ME GO RIGHT NOW! I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!”_

Lance ignored Keith’s screaming and quickly went back inside. Seconds later Keith was dumped in a laundry basket and Lance was on the phone while carrying said basket out to the car.

“Hey Pidge. You still at work? Yeah, well I just found this dog that got the shit beaten out of it by a raccoon. It’s kind of aggressive, but I think it’s scared. Can you help? ... You’re the best. See you in ten.”

When they were placed in the car Keith started to panic. Firstly; Kolivan was going to murder him. Secondly; he had been told many vet horror stories about strays that didn’t have owners. He’d been told that if a stray dog with no owner goes to the vets they would get neutered. Keith wanted to keep his balls.

As they got closer to the clinic Keith started to panic some more. This was going to be the worst. He was going to get his balls cut off. When everyone else in his pack found out they would laugh at him for getting too close to townies. Keith just wanted to curl up and disappear… But first he was going to piss on Lance’s jacket.

***

Lance hauled the laundry basket into vets and put it on the reception desk. Pidge looked between Lance and the basket. “... So did you bring a dog or are you high as balls?”

“The dog is in the basket.” Said Lance. “Some tiny pomeranian thing. It got into a fist fight with a raccoon so I thought I’d bring it in. Just in case it got rabies or something.”

“Good call.” Pidge peeked into the basket and a barrage of yips and angry growls flowed out. “... Doesn’t look too beat up, but sure does smell like trash. We’ll give Stinky a flea bath and treat it for rabies, roundworm, and all the usual stuff.” She grabbed the basket and walked into the back. “Hey, since you’re like the only one here you can help me wash Stinky.”

“Alright.” Lance followed her into the back and waved at her dad who was taking inventory of a small fridge with some vaccines in them. “Hey Sam. How’s the vet life?”

The older man chuckled. “Everything is good Lance. So you brought in a stray?”

“Yeah. A black pomeranian was getting beaten up by a raccoon.” Said Lance. “Looks like it’s someone’s pet so I thought it would be best to bring it in.”

“Good man.” Sam quickly got a rabies vaccine ready while Pidge got the pom out on the table. When the little black dog was out on the table it started whimpering and looked terrified. Not that Lance could blame them. The poor thing did just get grabbed and brought here. 

All Lance could do was watch as Sam held it down and Pidge quickly jabbed the pup. It yelped and cried. Once it was done getting jabbed Pidged picked the pom up and gave them a bath. For a while the water was a dirty brown and red colour. Then it went pink, and then it was clear. When the pup was cleaned up and dried Sam treated the poms bite marks and scratches. The small dog was quiet by now, but it was shaking.

“So, is she okay?” Asked Lance.

Sam chuckled a little and carefully lifted the pom, showing off its sex. “He is fine Lance. He’s pretty healthy. Just a little dirty and banged up.”

“How did you not know it was a boy?” Asked Pidge.

Lance shrugged. “It was a small and fluffy dog. Not like I could see its dick and balls right away.”

“Fair enough.” Said Sam. “It can be hard to tell on a little fluffy dog like this. Pidge, temperature check.”

“You got it.” She grabbed a thermometer and lube.

Immediately the pom’s tail wrapped its tail between his legs and sat down. He really didn’t seem to like where this was going. Unfortunately for the pup he wasn’t as strong as two adults and he had his temperature taken. He was very vocal about his he didn’t like this.

Once that was done the pup was back to sitting down to protect their butt, However Sam picked them up and walked over to a bench. “Let’s see if he’s been microchipped.” He picked up a scanner and waved it over the dog’s back. The poor thing was shaking again.

“Poor Stinky.” Said Pidge. “Got into a fight with a trash panda and all he got was a rabies shot.”

The scanner suddenly beeped and Sam looked at the computer. “Good news. Stinky has been microchipped.”

“That’s good.” Said Lance. The pomeranian made a confused yipping sound and tried to look at the screen. It made Lance chuckle. “Aw, Stinky’s all confused.”

Sam chuckled and patted the pomeranian. “Let’s see… Stinky belongs to… Oh… This could be a problem…”

“What’s wrong?” Asked Lance.

Sam sighed and took off his glasses. “This dog belongs to Krolia Kogane… Her number is here but we probably won’t reach her…”

“... Is she dead?” Asked Lance. There were a fair few older people here on the mountain. It was possible.

Pidge shook her head. “No. She’s a bush person. So she might not have reception wherever she is… Didn’t expect one of them to have a pomeranian. You’d think they’d have something more practical? Like a husky or some kind of mountain dog?”

Sam shrugged. “Well, emotional support pets are just as good as a working animals.” He looked out to the front desk. “... We’re pretty low on dog treats… Maybe Keith will turn up tomorrow and he can take them? Or we could just keep them here until one of us comes across Kolivan or one of the other bush people in his group?” He looked over at Lance. “You want to keep him for the night? It would probably be nicer spending a night in a house rather than one of our kennels.”

Lance looked down at the pomeranian. The poor pup was laying on his side looking like he was in shock. It was probably stressed after everything that happened to it. “Yeah, I’ll take it home. Shouldn’t be too hard to look after it. What’s the little guy’s name? I can’t keep calling him Stinky when he obviously doesn’t smell anymore.”

Sam looked back at computer. “... Keefy.”

Keefy let out a whine. The poor pup looked devastated, but at least he had chilled out a lot. Pidge just snorted out a laugh. “Keefy? That’s adorable. You better take good care of Keefy. Those bush people will wreck your shit if you fuck with their stuff.”

Lance rolled his eyes and picked up the dog. He seemed like he was used to being handled by people. “I know how to take care of little dogs.” Keefy let out a defeated whine.

Pidge snickered. “Sounds like Keefy knows he’s in trouble. Remember to take your laundry basket home with you.”

“Will do.” Lance said his goodbyes to them and drove back home. Keefy stayed quiet in the passenger seat next to Lance the whole time. The pup just look mortified, which Lance found weird. Could dogs even be mortified? He wasn’t sure.

***

Keith was mortified. Not only did he get beaten in a fight by a raccoon, he got caught by a fucking townie, taken to a vet, got injected with all the vaccines, had a thermometer shoved up his ass, washed, manhandled by three humans, and then he found out his mum had him microchipped and named him Keefy. Mother fucking Keefy. Did Kolivan know he was chipped? When did this happen?

He was so engrossed in his own humiliation he hardly noticed he was inside Lance’s house until the man gently put him on the carpet. Keith yipped in surprise and started to look around. This was the first time he’d actually been in a townie’s house that wasn’t Shiro’s. It was kind of sad to say but the fanciest buildings Keith had ever gone into were the vets, doctors, and the thrift shop. Everything kind of smelled like spices and citrus. Keith didn’t like the citrus. It stung his nose.

He heard Lance walking around the kitchen and quickly went to investigate. Keith could smell the meat and he was drooling. Fuck it. He wanted beef. Time to swallow his pride and just beg. He was good at it. Though it usually worked on little old ladies or girls. He was pretty sure he could work his charms on Lance.

He walked over to Lance and whined. _“Feed me townie.”_

Lance looked down at Keith as he put his steak in the microwave. “... Oh, I guess you’re hungry too? You were probably looking in the trash for scraps huh?”

_“... Yeah. Let’s go with that.”_

He watched as Lance took his plate out of the microwave, cut some of it off, chopped it into small pieces and put it on a plastic plate for him. “Don’t know what you’re used to, but you should be fine with this tonight.”

 _“Finally, some real fucking food.”_ Keith happily scoffed down the meat and licked his lips when he was done. He looked up in time to see Lance taking his plate out of the microwave. He must have left it to take him to the vet. _“Do you always bring in stray animals?”_

Lance looked down at Keith in mild confusion. “Oh right, you’re probably thirsty.” He quickly got Keith a bowl of water and put it in the kitchen. “There you go Keefy.”

Keith huffed in annoyance. _“Keith. Not Keefy… Call me Keefy again and I’ll bite you in the balls.”_

Naturally Lance didn’t know what Keith was saying, so he just patted his head. “Good boy. Drink up.”

Keith huffed, but drank the water anyway. Since Lance had offered it to him. Once he was done Keith went about exploring the house some more. Lance didn’t seem to mind him walking around. Hell he even seemed amused to watch him quickly walking past the door frame. 

Keith ended up walking into Lance’s bedroom and started sniffing around. At the moment his canine instincts were telling him to seek out things that had a strong scent. It helped him get a good idea of who was around and what kind of person they were. He found some dirty laundry and he started sniffing.

Lance seemed to be a relatively healthy young man. Didn’t seem to have any really weird health problems by the smell of his b.o. If he was a human doing this everyone would give him weird looks. At least when he was a dog it looked cute.

He went to have a quick look under his bed to see what townies put under their bed. As he did so his paw got caught on something slippery. He quickly looked down and saw he had caught his paw in Lance’s boxers.

 _“... Silk boxers? Nope. Off! Now!”_ Keith quickly kicked his leg around trying to get the offending clothing off.

Lance ended up walking into the bedroom and looked down at Keith. He chuckled. “Aw, you trying to find a place to sleep? That’s adorable.”

 _“No asshole!”_ Snapped Keith. _“I’m seeing if you’ve got some hormonal thing going on or like are some fucked up weirdo that murders tiny dogs!”_

Lance smiled a little and picked Keith up and lied down on his bed, putting him on his chest. Keith was shocked at this sudden turn of events, but wasn’t upset by it. It was kind of nice to lay against someone’s chest. It reminded him of when he was younger.

The humans sighed and started patting him again. “You know, you’re pretty nice when you aren’t all yippy and angry.”

_“Fuck you.”_

“Mind if I vent?”

_“You’re going to do it no matter what I say. You don’t understand me.”_

Lance scratched under his chin. “Glad you’ve agreed Keefy. You’re a very chatty pup.”

_“I will shit on your bed if you keep calling me Keefy.”_

“So…” Began Lance. “I went and got roped into helping this bush person out today. You might know him since you belong to one of them. A guy called Keith. Bet you’re named after him.”

_“More than you know…”_

“Anyway, I was helping him do some stuff and he was nice to me but then… I wanted to be nice to him but he just… He doesn’t like me. He’s a nice guy, I think? A little weird, but I think he’s about the same age as me or close to it… I was trying to be nice and offer him a drink. I offer all my friends drinks.”

_“Oh…”_

“Maybe he thought I was trying to give him a handout or something? I have no idea…” Lance sighed. “Bush people are scary…”

Keith rolled his eyes. _“Yeah. Whatever man. We aren’t scary. You’re just dumb.”_

“Maybe I should get a dog?” Mused Lance. “My mama has been saying I need to get a dog, or a girlfriend… Like they are the same thing or something… But I don’t know… I kind of think Shiro’s kind of hot.”

 _“What the actual fuck? You think Shiro is hot?”_ Asked Keith. _“Well… He is pretty hot. Not gonna lie… But get a dog instead. Slightly less work than a girlfriend or boyfriend.”_

“Are you judging me?”

_“Like you wouldn’t believe.”_

“Nah you wouldn’t judge me.” Said Lance. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “Do you like living out there? Like out in the forest with the bush people? Are you okay with running around and doing dog stuff? Are there other dogs? Like, do the other bush people keep dogs as pets?”

_“We could, but it’s kind of weird… Especially if our pets haven’t been neutered… That was a weird Summer. ”_

Lance hummed and lightly bumped Keith’s nose. “You got a cute snoot.”

 _“...”_ Keith covered his face with his paws. _“Quit it… I am a vicious werewolf. I could bite your neck and kill you.”_

“Oh my gaaaaaaaaawd!” Squealed Lance. “I didn’t notice you had pink toe beans! They are adorable!”

Keith rolled his eyes and jumped off Lance, landing next to him. He stretched and yawned. It had been a stressful night so far, and he still had to figure out how to get out of the house before sunriseIt would be difficult to explain to Lance why there was suddenly a naked man in his house.

“Aw, come back Keefy.” Cooed Lance. He reached over and started scratching Keith’s back. Instantly Keith melted and closed his eyes. It felt so nice. So damn nice Lance scratched all the way along his spine. It felt nice. So good. He slowly raised his hips up when he felt Lance scratching around his spine. “Oh my god. You’re just like Snoopy.”

Lance moved his hand away and Keith quickly realised that his face was pressed against the mattress while his ass was up in the air. Thank the lord above that Lance couldn’t see him blush. If he could, Lance would probably laugh more. He was bright red at the moment. Keith quickly as down and quickly scooted towards the end of the bed. This was so embarrassing. Why was he doing this?

Lance just chuckled and got up. “Okay. You make yourself comfortable.” He grabbed some clothes off the floor and walked into the bathroom.

When he was gone Keith started looking around some more. How was he going to get outside? What was his escape? How was he going to do this? Head butt the door at highspeed and knocking self out? Not the best option, but one he would use if he had no other choice. And considering Keith had a problem with fixating on his first idea no matter what the consequences, he was going to knock himself out by running into a door.

Lance walked out of the bathroom dressed in his pyjamas, which consisted of a large graphic T-shirt and some loose shorts. He looked down at Keith and frowned a little. “Hmmmm...”

_“... What?”_

“Where am I going to put you…”

_“Outside so I can go home?”_

“Wanna sleep in bed with me?”

_“... I would rather challenge a skunk to a fart off.”_

Lance patted Keith and got into bed. “Yeah, you can sleep here. Bet my bed’s more comfy than whatever bed your owner lets you sleep on.”

Well, Lance wasn’t wrong. His bed was much softer and nicer than his own. He curled up on the bed in a tight ball. He’d wait for Lance to go to sleep and then he would go and figure out how to escape. He’d just pretend he was asleep too. It would be fine. No big deal. He yawned a little and closed his eyes. He was just pretending. Not going to actually going to fall asleep. No way.

***

Keith woke up to a dull ache running down his spine. His body was in the slow process of getting ready to change back. Annoying. He sat up and stretched. Suddenly he remembered where he was. This was not good. He was still In Lance’s house. Hell, Lance was still sleeping next to him. This was bad. Really bad.

Keith started to look around frantically. He needed to get outside and get into the woods before he transformed back. It would just be his luck to be done for indecent exposure just because he happened to transform back while in Lance’s place. Also, trespassing and breaking and entering. Iverson would just love that.

He spotted the window right above Lance’s dresser. Perfect. Keith took a running start off the bed and jumped on top of it. The window was already unlocked. It was all just a matter of pushing it open and getting the hell out of there. Which he did.

With a heavy shove, Keith pushed open the window and fell out into a bush. He quickly rolled out, and bolted. The ache was quickly spreading to all his limbs. Every finger, very toe. It all hurt. He made it into the woods but by now his muscles were starting to cramp. He needed to get home. Just get home.

Suddenly a wave of pain raced through his body like a lightning strike. Keith yelped in pain and completely lost his footing. He slipped and rolled down a steep hill. He hit about half a dozen rocks and branches before he landed into the water with a loud splash.

Keith was submerged under water for a few seconds before his feet touched the bottom and he pulled himself out, collapsing by the side of the river. He sighed heavily and ran his fingers through his hair. He was human again.

“That was one hell of a night…” He muttered. He slowly pulled himself into a sitting position and came face to face with Ulaz and Thace who were sitting in the tall grass. Not much of a surprise to Keith. After the more important part of the run, checking for traps and such, everyone was free to do what they wanted. Ulaze and Thace had a causal relationship and were often found together the next day. Still kind of awkward. “Um… Hi?”

“Morning…” Said Ulaz slowly. “Um… So you took a pretty big tumble there…”

“Yeah… Can I borrow some pants?”

Thace nodded and gestured towards his cabin a few feet away. “Yeah. I think I have something that’ll fit you.”

“Thanks…” Keith got up and started to walk to the cabin. Thace and Ulaz followed after him. “So, how was your run?”

Thace shrugged. “It was fine We managed to catch a rabbit. You?”

“I got into a fight with a raccoon.”

“Again?” Asked Ulaz. “What is with you and raccoons?”

“They are assholes!” Snapped Keith. “Little assholes with grabby hands!”

“Did you at least win?” Asked Thace.

Keith blushed a little. He didn’t want to go into too much detail about what happened. Then he’d have to admit he got caught by a human and taken to a vet. He’d get into so much trouble. “We fought near a townie’s house. They turned on their outside light and we ran.”

“Good.” Thace went into his cabin and threw a pair of pants at Keith. “Here. Take this. Give them back sometime this week.”

“Will do.” Keith quickly pulled on the pants and went back home. He was still sore and now he was grouchy. He was going to get back to his cabin, down some water and sleep the rest of the day. Runs really took it out of him.


	4. The Doghouse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance is trying to be a good and responsible person... However it keeps getting Keith into deeper and deeper trouble with Kolivan. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Lance was quietly panicking. He’d been quietly panicking all day. When he woke up Keefy was gone. He looked all around his house but the pup was gone. Then he found some dog hair caught on the window frame above his dresser. Keefy had gotten out and he was gone. Lance had no idea what to do. He felt like he was going to get beaten up by one of the bush people for losing the pomeranian.

He was quietly screaming as he was making coffee in the little coffee shop. He made all the little old ladies their coffees and got them their cakes. It was just him and Allura. Her father owned the ski resort on the mountain so Allura didn’t have to work, but her family was big on making it on your own. They would be there if she really needed it. But she never did

During a lull in activity Allura walked over to him and offered him a cookie. “You okay Lance? You’re really out of it today.”

“Hmm? Well yeah… I rescued a dog last night. Tiny pomeranian.”

“Aw, that sounds cute.”

“Yeah, he was… But he escaped when I was sleeping and now I have no idea where it is…”

“Well hopefully it ran home?”

“Maybe…” Lance sighed and ate his cookie. “It was microchipped and it belongs to one of the bush people.”

That worried Allura a little. “Oh… I hope it got back okay. Did you hear the wolves last night? There were so many...” 

“Yeah. I know. I heard them… Fuck if Keefy got eaten by a wolf I’m so dead…”

The bell to the shop dinged and Lance felt like he was going to die. Kolivan had just walked in. Sometimes he would come in to buy some of the cakes that they had. He always said it was for Antok, but Lance was sure he liked the muffins they had. Either way Kolivan looked rough. Even by his usual standards. He looked like he got into a fight with a bear.

“H-hi Kolivan.” Stuttered Lance. “W-what would you like?”

Kolivan looked over at the muffins they had on display. “... Two of those and the strongest coffee you have.”

“You got it.” Lance went to grab the muffins while Allura made him his coffee.

“So Kolivan…” Said Allura. “Lance has a little something to tell you about a dog.”

“Oh?”

Lance almost dropped his tongs and the muffins. “I um… I… So… Last night I saw a dog…”

“A dog?” Asked Kolivan as he sipped his coffee.

“Yeah. A little black pomeranian.”

“...” Kolivan put down his coffee and gave Lance all his attention. “Proceed.”

Lance nervously fiddled with the tongs. “Um… I… So I found a pomeranian last night and I took them to the vet. It apparently belongs to someone from your group. Krolia I think? A-anyway the dog’s name is Keefy but they ran away and I have no idea where it went. I am so sorry!”

Kolivan just stared at Lance for a few seconds before he took some wrinkled notes out of his pocket and handed them to Allura. “Don’t worry about it. That pup is always getting out. I’m pretty sure some she wolf thinks he’s a baby. Everything is fine.”

“S-so Keefy is okay?”

“Yes... For now…” Muttered Kolivan. “I think he’s going to get put under house arrest for a few days…” He grabbed his muffins and coffee, and left.

Lance let out a huge sigh of relief. He’d told Kolivan about Keefy and the dog was okay. That was good. He’d done a good deed for the day.

***

Later that night on the final night of their run for the month Keith ended up getting grabbed by the scruff of his neck and stuffed into a dog carrier. The carrier was then strung up on a tree and he was left hanging. This was humiliating. He’d come all the way out there for a run like Kolivan wanted and he stuck him in the cage. It sucked.

_“Come on guys!”_ Whined Keith. _“What did I do? Let me out!”_

Kolivan huffed and lightly poked the cage. _“You know what you did. Lance shouldn’t know that you exist.”_

_“Haven’t I suffered enough?”_

Antok sighed a little and lightly nuzzled Kolivan. _“Come on. He did end up going to the vet.”_

Kolivan huffed and glared at Keith some more. _“One hour. You’re allowed out in one hour.”_

_“... Fine.”_ Keith attempted to make himself comfortable, but it was hard to do in the plastic box. Stupid Lance. He just had to talk to Kolivan. Now he was stuck in a box. He started gnawing at anything his could fit his muzzle around.

Suddenly he got flicked in the nose and yelped. Standing in front of his cage was one of the younger werewolves. A young man who lived near the foot of the mountain, Regris. _“I can’t believe you got taken to a vet. Do they really stick a thermometer up your ass to take your temperature?”_

Keith growled at them. _“Shut up! What are you doing here anyway? Aren’t you going for a run? It’s the last one of the month.”_

_“... Kolivan is making me babysit you since I might have eaten some of Thace’s chickens the other night…”_ Grumbled Regris.

Hearing that made Keith chuckle. If Kolivan had a big enough dog carrier he’d probably put Regris in it to make him suffer. _“So what? You’re here to let me out so I can take a piss when I need to?”_

_“Pretty much.”_

_“... Can you let me out now?”_

_“Nice try Keith.”_

_“Hey! I am tiny and have a very small bladder right now! It’s like the size of a thumbnail! I drank a lot of water tonight before I came here! I was going to do so much scent marking before Kolivan put me in the dumb bitch jail!”_ Which wasn’t a total lie. Keith was planning to go home and scent mark all around his cabin. While he could still do that while he was human, he found his scent was stronger when he was in his werewolf form.

Regris frowned and let Keith out of his cage. Keith quickly stretched and looked up at the larger wolf. His fur was grey and he had a much longer tail than the others. Keith wasn’t sure if that was all hair or if he had a really long tail.

Keith wandered over to a tree and started to sniff it. Pretty much everyone in the pack had peed on it already. He walked behind the tree and peed.

_“... Are you done yet?”_ Asked Regris.

_“What part of I drank all the water and I have a tiny bladder do you not understand?”_ Snapped Keith. Regris huffed and told him to hurry up.

Keith didn’t really need to pee that badly, but he needed just a little more time to quickly slip away and bolt. Which he did. Keith might not have been as impressive as the other werewolves in his pack, but he was fast and knew all the best spots to hide. He couldn’t go home because once Regris realised he was gone he would try and find him around his home. He needed to hide in the town. Again. Sure Kolivan would get mad at him, and Keith didn’t really want to be the town, but it was the only place werewolves wouldn’t go during a full moon.

He quickly ran into town and zipped into the place with the most people this time of night. The restaurant area. Lots of cafes and some places doing dinner. Perfect. Too many people out here. This would be fine. Keith stuck his nose to the ground and started sniffing. He wasn’t looking where he was going and ended up walking into someone.

He yipped in surprise and quickly looked up at her. She was young woman with white hair. She smelled like coffee and cookie dough. She looked equally surprised to see Keith. Shr crouched down and let Keith sniff her hand. Which he did.

“Hello there cutie.” She cooed. “Do you have a collar?” She slowly reached over to check if Keith had a collar. Keith quickly ducked away from her hand and huffed at her. It just made her chuckle. “Well aren’t you a funky little guy?”

The door to the shop next to her opened and Lance walked out. “Okay napkins are secure wanna… Keefy!”

_“WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!”_ Yelled Keith. _“WHY YOU? AGAIN!”_

Allura chuckled. “Is this the dog that got beaten up by a raccoon?”

_“IT WAS A DRAW!”_

Lance nodded and crouched down next to her. “Yeah. You got out again tonight boy?” He reached out and let Keith sniff him, which he did out of common courtesy. This was like handshaking between their species. “... Maybe I should take him home again?” 

_“Oh fuck that I’m going to climb in a dumpster and look for scraps.”_

Allura shrugged. “Well I guess… Oh, we could take him with us to that nice burger place around the corner? They are dog friendly if we eat outside. The night is nice. We can do that.”

Keith’s ears perked up and his tail started to wag. _“Food? Free food? Fuck yeah! Gimmie!”_

Lance chuckled and carefully picked Keith up. Keith was a little surprised at how comfortably Lance was holding him. Then again whenever Keith was this small he was just big enough to fit in a werewolf’s hand. He’d have to avoid their claws so this was kind of nice.

“I think Keefy wants to come with us.”

Allura chuckled and locked up the cafe. “Okay. Burger place it is.”

Keith was kind of excited. This place was nice. Sure he never really ate there much. Too expensive for him but hey, a free meal was a free meal and… _“Wait… Are you two going on a date?”_ They paid no attention to him as they continued to laugh and talk with each other about stuff that happened during the day. Now Keith felt awkward. He didn’t want to intrude on their date. He’d just eat a free meal and run.

When they sat at a table Keith ended up sitting on Lance’s lap. It was weird. He knew he was a small dog but he didn’t really know what it felt like to sit on someone’s lap. The only person’s lap he ever sat on was Shiro’s.

He rested his chin against the table and sighed. He couldn’t believe he was intruding on a date. This was so weird. He himself hadn’t had much experience when it came to dating. At school no one wanted to ask out the kid whose whole wardrobe consisted of 100% thrift store items, or the kid that got into fights with the football team on a regular basis… That and Keith was hella gay.

Puberty was wild for him. Being a natural born werewolf he didn’t have to suffer going through what could only be described as second puberty more than once. Unlike the unlucky bastards that might get bitten by a werewolf and suffer it a second time he got destroyed in one hit instead of two. Which was nice, but damn it sucked… Especially since he was a hormonal teenager in a building full of hormonal teens. Wolves use hormones and scents to tell when potential partners are sexually mature… Which basically meant Keith was hyper stressed every time he went to school because teenage hygiene was the worst. Which didn’t contribute well to his anti social reputation… At least he didn’t start humping anyone like a male dog in a rut. Spring was awful.

He sighed again and looked up at Allura. She was laughing at something Lance just said. Lance was a nice person. He was petting him as he was talking. It was nice. He smelled like coffee and cookies too.

The waiter came over and took their orders. Keith didn’t pay attention to what they got, but then they asked about what Keith wanted. He looked up at them. _“Steak. Steak or bacon. Both. I want both.”_

Of course he was ignored and Allura answered for him. “Can I ask what the difference between the chicken and beef are?”

“Well the beef has black beans and brown rice mixed in with it. The chicken has peas and corn.” Said the waiter. “Don’t worry we portion control everything so we don’t overfeed any precious fur babies. What’s the little guy’s name?”

_“Suck my dick.”_

“Keefy.” Said Lance. “He likes beef.”

“Then one doggo beef patty for Keefy.” They quickly jotted it down on their notepad and walked off.

Keith looked up at Lance and kind of smiled as best as he could in dog form. He liked beef. Beef was good. _“Thanks.”_

Allura chuckled a little. “Aw, it’s like he’s talking to you.” She reached over and scratched his chin. “Adorable.” Keith huffed and was completely unamused, but Allura was good at giving scratches. Felt nice. He closed his eyes and leaned into her hand.

The two of them continued to talk to each other as Keith started sniffing the table. It still smelled like food. Someone spilled mustard on the table. There was also some pickle juice. That reminded him, he needed to talk to someone about getting pickles.

The waiter gave them their food and Lance put Keith down on the ground so he could eat his food. Keith happily ate his food. Any time he got a free meal was a good day. Suddenly the smell of something familiar hit his nose.

_“Shiro?”_ Keith looked out from under the table and saw Shiro walking towards them with a shopping bag in one hand. _“Shiro!”_ Keith couldn’t help but wag his tail.

The man instantly saw him when he first yipped and quickly walked over to their table. “Hey you two.” He greeted them.

“Evening Shiro.” Said Allura. “How are you?”

“I’m good.” He crouched down and patted Keith. “Just happened to notice the dog you have here… Is it yours?”

Lance shook his head. “Ah no. Keefy belongs to one of the bush people. Allura found him and we decided to take him with us to dinner.”

“So you took him on your date?” Asked Shiro.

Immediately Lance and Allura started waving their arms around and talking rapidly. “What? Me and her? No way!”

“Lance is nice and everything but…”

“I’m not saying Allura isn’t gorgeous but…”

“I mean, I’ve known Lance since we were in diapers!”

“She’s practically my sister!”

Shiro chuckled and attempted to calm them down. “Whoa, easy there you two. I’m just joking… If you like I can take Keefy off your hands. I live quite close to Keith and I can just drop him off at Keith’s cabin in the morning.”

_“Oh fuck yes! Take me away from these people!”_

“Oh, he seems to like you.” Said Lance. “You around him a lot?”

Shiro nodded. “Yep. I’ve trained him myself. Keefy, sit.”

_“... Oh fuck you.”_ Grumbled Keith as he sat down.

“Good boy. Now lie down.” 

Keith lied down and continued to death glare Shiro. _“I will eat your shoes.”_

“Play dead.”

Keith flopped to his side and went limp. _“I will hump your prosthetic while you’re sleeping because you are an asshole.”_

“Good boy.” Shiro picked Keith up and smiled at the two at the table. “Want me to pay for Keefy’s food?”

Allura shook her head. “No, it’s okay. It’s only a few dollars.”

Shiro nodded and smiled at Lance. “You good with me taking Keefy?”

“Yeah, I’m good. He looks like he likes you more than us anyway.” Said Lance. “He just likes us because we gave him food.”

_“Damn right!”_

Shiro just chuckled and walked away from them, wishing them a good night. When they got far enough away Shiro sighed and looked down at Keith. “Kolivan is going to be mad at you, isn’t he?”

_“Suck my dick Shiro.”_

The older man just shook his head and walked back to his home. Once they were inside Shiro put him down and walked into the lounge room to drink beer and watch TV. Keith sat on the couch next to him and made himself comfortable. It didn’t take him too long to find himself a spot he liked, and did at least three spins before he lied down.

Shiro chuckled at his antics and started to channel surf. “Yip when you see something you like.”

Keith huffed and watched the TV until it stopped on a black and white movie. _“Stop!”_

“The wolf man? Nice choice.”

Keith rolled his eyes and settled in to watch the movie. He didn’t see many movies growing up so any chance he got to the movies very often. Maybe once a year if he was lucky. Usually around his birthday. He’d pretty much grown up only being able to watch horror movies since his birthday was in October and all. 

As he watched the movie he couldn’t help but wag his tail. He liked monster movies. At least the start and the middle, the end was always a downer for him. Being a werewolf he didn’t see the problem with going out and having fun at night. Only really aggressive werewolves went out and hunted humans these days anyway. Most man eaters were kicked out of their packs or killed by their own to get red of the so called bad blood.

He just wished that there was some monster movie where werewolves would live at the end. The Underworld movies didn’t count. Those were more vampire flicks. By the time the credits rolled around Keith was having a hard time keeping his eyes open. He yawned and stretched out. Earning a few pats from Shiro.

“You get some sleep there Keith. See you in the morning.”

_“Night Shiro.”_ Mumbled Keith before he fell asleep. Sure Kolivan was going to kick his ass and maybe chain him to a tree next time there was a run, but it was worth it. He got a free meal out of it and got carried everywhere. So worth it.

***

The next day Keith woke up to the feeling of his muscles and bones aching. With a strangled groan Keith’s body was forced back into its human form. Before Keith could properly get his bearings Shiro dropped a blanket on him. 

“You know, I thought the days of having random men waking up on my couch was over with…”

Keith rolled his eyes and sat up. “Yeah, well just be thankful I’m an adult now and not a teenager. Slightly less creepy.”

“Yeah...” Shiro walked into the kitchen and started making coffee. “Want some coffee? Maybe something to eat?”

“Do you have any sausages?”

“Yeah. Sure.” Shiro started rummaging around his fridge. “I have a pair of sweatpants and an old shirt you can borrow.”

“Thanks.” Keith walked to Shiro’s room and quickly pulled on the clothes. They enjoyed a quiet breakfast before it was interrupted by a loud knock at the door. Keith let out an involuntary whimper, knowing very well who was here.

Shiro gave Keith an apologetic look and opened the front door. “Good morning Kolivan.”

“Morning Shiro. I’m here for Keith.”

“Sure. Keith! Kolivan’s here!”

Keith kept his head low and slowly walked to the front door. Kolivan was not going to be happy with him. He felt the older man put his hand on his neck and guide him out of the house. “Thank you Shiro. I will take it from here.”

“Don’t be too hard on him Kolivan.” Said Shiro. “Keith’s just living his best life.”

The older man just ignored him and walked back to the woods with Keith. When they were far enough away from civilization he let out a low growl. “You disobey a direct order? You run back into town? You impose on Shiro? A damn werewolf hunter? Domesticated or not you are one of us. A werewolf. Did you forget that?”

“No. I just… I just don’t like being confined. You know none of us do.”

“You were just going to be confined for one run.” Snapped Kolivan. “A lenient punishment for you. Especially since you don’t like going with us on runs anyway.”

“...” Keith huffed a little and pouted.

Kolivan rolled his eyes. “Since you don’t like the kennel, you are going to go home, get changed into appropriate work clothes, and then you are going to come with me. Antok and I found a fallen tree and we are going to cut it up for firewood.”

“Oh, okay.” That didn’t sound too bad.

“You’re not using chainsaws.”

“Oh…” That still wasn’t so bad. Axes were fine.

“You’re going to use an axe.” Said Kolivan. “Only Antok and I will be using chainsaws.

“WHAT?! HOW IS THAT FAIR?!”

“It’s a punishment for breaking our rules.”

Keith pouted. This wasn’t fair.


	5. Washboard abs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith continues to get punished by Kolivan for trying to live his best doggo life, and Lance is just a total bi disaster... Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Keith hated life so much. He’d just spent his whole morning chopping wood with Kolivan and Antok. It was a nightmare. Keith was drenched in sweat and ended up stripping down to his jeans so he could use his shirt to wipe the sweat off himself. 

“Kill me…” He groaned.

“Not yet.” Said Antok. “You have to help us carry the logs back to the truck so we can take them to the hardware store.”

Keith wanted to kill himself by the time they had managed to load up the truck. He was starving and wanted nothing more than death. He climbed into the back of the truck with the rest of the wood and let Antok and Kolivan get into the front. They drove into town and Keith was forced to unload all the wood by himself at the hardware store. Kolivan watched him while Antok talked to the store owner.

This was the worst. Once the last log was unloaded Keith collapsed into the truck bed and let out a long sigh. “Kill me now?”

Kolivan patted his back. “No. You have now suffered enough. You just stay here. Antok and I are going to get you something to eat and drink. Okay?”

“Okay… Not moving…”

“Good. Back in a bit.”

Kolivan walked off leaving Keith to bake in the sun. He couldn’t understand how the older werewolves were to just walk around like it was nothing after three nights of runs. Keith felt like shit even before he had been forced to chop wood. He draped his arm over his face and sighed heavily. He wanted to sleep again for the next few hundred years.

“A-are you okay?”

Keith moved his arm and glanced up at Lance. “... Yeah. What are you doing here?”

“I was picking up some hooks and stuff for the cafe. You um… You look… You look pretty beat.”

Keith hummed in agreement and sat up, rubbing his shirt over his face and chest to try and get rid of any remaining sweat. “Yeah. Kolivan had me chopping wood all morning with an axe after I broke one of the groups rules.”

“What rule was that?”

“Secret.”

“Fair enough.” He nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot. It reminded Keith of a nervous pup trying to get the attention of a bigger dog. “So um…”

“Yeah?”

“I um… Is Keefy okay?”

That surprised Keith. “Oh yeah. The dog is fine. He um… He happens to get out a fair bit so um… If you see him and take him home just let him out before morning so he can come home. He doesn’t bite, but he barks a lot.”

“Yeah.” Lance smiled a little. “He’s a really cute dog. His owner takes pretty good care of him, right?”

“If you mean Krolia… She’s not on the mountain at the moment.”

“Oh? Where is she?”

“Next town over.” Said Keith. “She does seasonal work off the mountain. It works for her.”

“Huh, okay… So she just leaves and comes back when she likes?”

“Yep. That my mum for you.”

Lance seemed to be taken aback by that. “Oh! She’s your mum? I didn’t know.”

Keith shrugged. “Well why would you know?”

“Fair point… So…”

“Yeah?”

“You’re ripped.”

Keith frowned and looked down at himself. He didn’t think he was ripped. Sure he was muscular. He had to pretty much carry stuff around and do everything himself. He had to build up some muscles. Hell, he helped repair other people’s cabins when they needed it. Plus his diet was high in protein. He hardly ate any fats so of course he was in shape. That being said he knew women in his pack that can, would, and have bench pressed him. Hell when he was still in high school Antok would carry him on his back as a weight when he couldn’t find a log. 

“Um… Thanks?”

“Yeah.” Said Lance. “You must like, go to the gym constantly! Like, what’s your routine?”

“... Lance, I live in the middle of the woods. I build my own stuff. I pretty much only eat what I can kill.”

Realization suddenly washed over Lance’s face and he went bright red. “R-right. Of course… What was I thinking?”

“I don’t know.”

“Right… Um, so I’m sorry about what I said the last time we met.” Said Lance quietly. “I didn’t mean to insult you or anything… It was shitty of me to make you feel bad… I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad…”

Keith shrugged. “It’s fine… Honestly I overreacted. Don’t worry about it… I um… I’m not used to people being nice to me. I’m not exactly approachable you know?”

“Oh yeah, I get it. You guys do look kind of scary and stuff… But it’s fine. Like, I know you guys aren’t actually scary or anything. You’re just normal people and I am pretty sure that if I keep talking I’ll end up saying something really stupid now. I really should stop.”

“Probably for the best. You talk a lot.”

Lance nodded and sighed a little. “Yeah, I know…”

It was at that moment Antok walked over to them and thrusted a bag into Keith’s chest. “Eat.”

Keith quickly opened the bag. “... Three burgers?”

“Yeah. They are all yours. Just get out of my truck. I to get it down to Ilun’s place. She needs help moving some stuff at her place.”

Keith pouted but got out of the truck. “Fine. Where’s Kolivan?”

“Talking to the shop owner. I’m driving the truck around to the front. You can walk home, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Later Keith.”

When Antok was gone Keith quickly grabbed a burger and started to hoe into it. He was about to start on the second one when he Lance chuckling. “What?”

Lance grinned. “What was this about only eating what you kill? Pretty sure you didn’t kill that burger.”

“... Burgers are an acception.”

The man laughed a little more. It was a nice laugh. “So it’s pretty hot out today and your place is pretty far off, want to come and sit in the cafe for a bit? Like, not trying to make you or anything. Just thought since it’s hot and all and you’re obviously hot and…” His face went red. “Not like that! Well maybe a little like that but like… You know what I mean.”

“... Do you have free water?”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s go.” As they walked Keith continued to practically inhale his food. He hadn’t eaten anything all day and he was starving. All the processed crap was probably going to make him a little sick, but that was a problem for future Keith to deal with. He’d finished eating by the time they got to the cafe. 

He hadn’t been into the cafe before. It had been around for a few years, but was technically new. A place made around the same time as the ski resort, so Keith didn’t end up going there just out of principle. He didn’t like all the random tourists that came to the mountain during winter. It was annoying.

But he had to admit it was nice in there. The place smelled like coffee and cakes. Keith sat at a table in the back of the cafe and Lance put a bottle of water in front of him along with some napkins.

“You got some sauce on your face.”

“Right. Thanks.” Keith grabbed a few and quickly wiped his face.

Lance grinned at him and walked behind the counter. “I’ll just be back here if you need me. Gotta put these hooks up and stuff. You just cool down and relax here. If you need to go you can.”

“Okay.” Keith watched Lance walk into the back room. He smiled a little and felt a slight tingling sensation in his tailbone. Something he usually felt when he was happy but couldn’t wag his tail for whatever reason. Like now, since he was human. It was kind of nice to be treated like a regular human for once.

***

The second Lance stepped into the backroom he crumpled onto the floor. Keith was hot. Keith was really fucking hot. He was muscular and well toned and holy fuck. Okay he had stupid hair but he was hot. A hot guy with a ravenous appetite for burgers. Holy shit he wolfed down those burgers like they were nothing. It was something else.

Allura walked through the back door and gave him a confused look. “Lance, what are you-?”

“Shush!”

“Did you just-?”

“Shush!” He waved her to crouch down and started whispering to her. “Keith is here.”

“Who?”

“Youngest bush person.” Whispered Lance. “Pale skin, black hair that’s a total mullet cut… damn washboard abs…”

Allura looked shocked for a moment before she grinned. “Washboard abs?”

“... I never said that.”

“You totally did… But why are we whispering?”

Lance blushed and looked down at the ground. “I um… Well… He’s here. I asked him over because he looked like he needed a place to cool down for a bit and…”

“And?”

“And he’s hot…” Admitted Lance. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Look just don’t make a big deal about this. Let me just crush over him for a bit then eat a tub of ice cream in a week when I find out he’s either straight or like has a girlfriend living on the next mountain over or something.”

Allura rolled her eyes. “Wow Lance, crushing on straight guys again?”

“It is the curse all bisexuals must bare.” He grumbled. 

She patted his head. “Well while you’re having a bi panic moment I’m going to go out and see if anyone else has come in and wants coffee.” She walked past him and let Lance continue to had his little bi panic episode.

Keith was hot and was pretty much a self made man. There were probably women all over town that wanted him. Lance slapped himself. He needed to focus. He wasn’t in high school anymore. He needed to be confident in himself and just talk to Keith… But what if it turned out that Keith was a raging homophobe? What if all the bush people were? But weren’t Antok and Kolivan a thing? This was too confusing. Why did he have to make things so complicated?

He sighed and started to put the coat hooks up in the back room. He was over thinking things again. He always did this. He had no idea why. Overthinking was practically the only way he could think. Hell when he was driving Keefy to the vet for a brief moment he had the irrational thought that he might need to whack Keefy with a shovel to kill him if he did have rabies. It was an irrational thought, but still, it was a thought.

He heard the front bell ring and he heard Pidge stomping in Hunk. “-and it shat all over Matt!”

“Ew! Don’t cats have like, toxo whatever it is?”

“Toxoplasmosis.” Said Pidge. “And yes. They can carry it. Matt was scrubbing his hands like crazy. Good news though, Mr Tubbs is no longer constipated.”

Allura let out an exasperated sigh. “Must you talk about that when you come in here?”

“Sorry Allura. Where’s bean pole?”

Allua looked into the backroom. “Lance! Pidge is calling for you.”

Lance sighed and walked out of the backroom. He was happy to see that Keith was still there, though it looked like he was counting some change he had in his pocket. Maybe he was trying to see if he could buy anything? The prices weren’t super expensive but weren’t super cheap either.

“Hey guys what’s up? What’s this about Matt getting crapped on by a cat?”

Pidge shrugged. “Mr Tubbs is old and cranky. Only likes Matt so he had no choice. You know what kind of coffee I like.”

“Black like your soul.” Said Lance calmly. “So you’re getting decaf. You need to sleep.”

Pidge rolled her eyes and walked over to Keith. She sat down next to him and flicked his nose. This made Keith yelp a little and rub his nose. Lance swore he growled at her. “The fuck was that for?”

“To get your head out of the clouds.”

Hunk shook his head. “Can I get a mocha?”

“Sure.” Lance looked over at Keith. “Hey Keith, you want anything?”

Keith shrugged. “What can I get for three acorns, 25c, and the wrapper for a stick of gum?”

“Whatever you can read on the board.” Lance said as he gestured to it. “Relax, you guys do a lot around town and Allura lets me have three free coffees a day before I have to start paying for them.”

“Oh… But I... I don’t drink coffee much…” Mumbled Keith. “I’ll just take whatever.”

Lance grinned. “How awake do you want to be tonight?”

“I want to slip into a coma.”

“Decaf it is.”

***

Keith’s tailbone continued to tingle when Hunk and Pidge sat by him. He was surprised they wanted to sit with him. He didn’t even have this much luck at school. But he was still confused by this and very cautious. Sure he was on friendly terms with Pidge but he didn’t know if he was on sitting together and eating terms with them and Hunk… He didn’t know Hunk.

Hunk just smiled at him. “Hey, so I’m Hunk. I work at my parents bakery. I don’t know if you know but like I think Thace comes by once a week to pick up stale bread.”

“Oh yeah… He makes bread pudding out of that and mixes it in with his chicken feed when it’s low…” Said Keith. “The bread is good. You guys make good food.”

Hunk was positively beaming at that. “You really think so? Thanks man. That means a lot.”

Lance came over and handed out their drinks. “Decaf black for Pidge, mocha for Hunk, and a decaf caramel latte Keith.”

Keith stared down at his drink and gave Lance a questioning look. “The fuck is that?”

Pidge rolled her eyes. “This is what happens when you let Lance choose your drink. He finds the most random shit and makes it for you. You’re lucky it’s decaf. Asshole will put in like all the espresso possible if you let him.”

“Hey, I’m not that mean.” Said Lance with a pout. “Oh by the way you guys still up to go to Grizzly’s on Friday?”

Hunk nodded. “Yep.”

“Totally.” Said Pidge.

“What about you Keith?” Asked Lance. “Want to come with us?”

Keith was surprised that Lance was inviting him. He was used to people making plans in front of him. Grizzly’s was the local pub. A relatively nice place. Food there was really good. Decent meals for their prices. When he was younger Keith’s pack would take him there for for his birthday, though Keith suspected it was mainly because they used to do $10 T-bone Fridays and they would exploit the fuck out of it. It was hard being a carnivore.

“Oh really?”

Pidge grinned. “Fuck yeah! You totally should! Aren’t you guys like always hanging around there?”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but the cops are always there. Iverson doesn’t like me. He keeps saying he’s going to throw me in a cell whenever he sees me. Like, what did I do? I haven’t punched anyone in like… Five… Six… One week…”

“To be fair didn’t Shiro say the last guy you punched kicked a dog?” Asked Pidge.

“Fuck dog haters.” Grumbled Keith. If he could he would have ripped into that guy and stuck his head on the nearest pole. Cruelty for the sake of cruelty was a huge no in his pack. They made it a point to always go for the weak points that will kill their prey in the fastest way possible. They also didn’t like hurting other animals. Technically humans were animals, but they should be better. Kicking a defenseless animal. Barbaric.

“Fuck animal haters in general.” Muttered Pidge. “Anyway, you wanna come with us? It’ll be fun. If there are any cops around we’ll be there to kick their ass!”

“My parents will kill me if I get brought in…” Muttered Hunk.

“... Lance and I will be there to kick their ass!” Said Pidge. “Fuck da po po!”

Lance rolled his eyes. “You were listening to Matt’s shitty white people rap music again haven’t you?”

“Ah shut your face. I’m a tiny white chick! Let me have this!” She whined.

Keith chuckled a little and smiled at them. His tailbone was tingling like crazy. “Okay. What time do I need to be there?”

“We’re meeting up at eight.” Said Pidge. “I might be a little late getting there, but I’ll be there.”

“We’re gonna get dinner and drinks.” Said Hunk.

Keith nodded a little. “Okay. I can do that.” He looked up at the clock. “I should probably get going… I have some gardening I need to do.”

“You garden?” Asked Hunk.

“Well yeah. I can’t just survive by catching and eating rabbits and raccoons. I need to eat other things… I think my carrots are ready to harvest soon…”

“Oh okay. That makes sense.”

Keith smiled a little and got up. “Thanks for the coffee.”

“No problem.” Said Lance. “Come by anytime. You can just drop in and chat if you like.”

“Thanks. See you guys Friday.” Keith waved to them and left the cafe. He took a sip of his drink. He was surprised at how sweet it was. It was nice. It made him smile and he felt his tailbone tingle more. If he was a dog right now his tail would be a blur. He was actually going out with people on Friday. People that weren’t from his pack… Sure they were townies, but they were nice townies.

***

As soon as Keith was gone Pidge grabbed hold of Lance’s shirt and swung him around so he ended up falling back into the chair Keith was sitting in. “PIDGE?!”

“Spill.” She demanded. “What happened to all your caution around the bush people? How did you go from that to inviting one of them out for dinner and drinks?”

“Um…”

“Keith has washboard abs!” Called Allura from behind the counter.

Lance gasped at her betrayal. “Why? Why would you expose me like that!”

Hunk sighed and shook his head. “Of course…”

Pidge snickered. “So you want to hook up with Keith? You looking for some weird, freaky, kinky sex or something?”

“... Pidge I will drown you.” Grumbled Lance. “I just… Look, he is weird and he’s kind of cute… And you guys are always telling me I should be nicer to them. Might as well start with someone around my age, right?” His friends shook their heads and were silently judging him. Allura was silently judging him. Lance was silently judging himself. Why did Keith have to be so damn hot when shirtless?


	6. Grizzly's pub & bar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith is experiencing positive feelings (mostly because food and beer) and Lance is low key thirsting. So nothing unusual really. lol. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Keith got to Grizzly’s a little earlier that agreed upon on Friday. He was just a little nervous and kind of anxious. He hadn’t really gone out with a townie before. Well he had, but it was with other people from his pack. Usually some of the nicer townies would treat them to dinner of a few beers if they went and helped to build a house of fix a roof. But it was never just him by himself.

He’d worn some of his nicer clothes, which just meant they didn’t have any grass stains, dirt marks, or holes in it. He also took some money from his savings tin. Since he never actually spent it and didn’t have a bank account so he had a few thousand dollars in there since he never spent it on anything, and the things he did save and buy for were basic things and petrol for his generator. Had to keep the heat on in winter somehow.

He got to the bar and ordered himself a beer while he waiting. He hoped that he wouldn’t have to wait around too much. He hoped that they weren’t messing around with him. Now Keith felt sad. At least he out and drinking a beer, so that wasn’t so bad.

“Oh hey Keith.” Said Hunk as he walked over to him. “You’re here early.”

“Well I walk and I have no idea how long it would take me to get here.”

“Okay cool. Let me get a drink and then we’ll find a table.” Hunk ordered himself a drink and the two of them sat at a table. “So how was your day? What did you get up to?”

Keith shrugged. “Nothing much. Just some basic maintenance stuff around my cabin. Kind of an easy day today.”

“What kind of stuff?” Asked Hunk. He seemed genuinely interested. Which made Keith smile a little.

“Nothing that crazy. I went around and got rid of some scrub, cut back some bushes… pulled some weeds. Things like that. You?”

“Lots of baking.” Said Hunk. “Got to the shop at six and started making dough and batter for bread and cakes.”

“Sounds nice. I suck at baking.”

“If you ever need some bread you can come around when we close the shop at around five thirty.” Said Hunk. “We try to make things fresh daily and try not to waste food. Anything we can’t sell we’re happy to give away.”

Keith smiled a little. “Thanks. I might do that.” He liked Hunk.

Lance walked over to them and grinned. “Hey guys. Miss me?”

Hunk chuckled. “Hey buddy. How was closing?”

“Eh, it was fine. I’m going to get another drink. You guys want another?”

Keith shook his head. “I’m good.”

“Grab a jug of water?” Asked Hunk.

Lance shot him finger guns. “You got it.” A few minutes later Lance was back at the table with his own drink and a jug of water. “When do you think Pidge will show up? Think she’ll get mad if we order a basket of fried pickles?”

“Probably.” Said Hunk. “You know how much she loves those things… Especially if she’s had to spend the day neutering dogs again.”

“Didn’t someone have a pet skunk?”

“Oh yeah. She called it little stinker, right?”

Keith hummed a little as he sipped his beer. “I have a skunk family living pretty close to me. I see them all the time.”

“Have you ever been sprayed?” Asked Hunk.

Keith shook his head. “No. You just have to stay very still. No sudden movements. You just have to let them do their own thing and walk off when they are done sniffing you.”

“Sounds like what someone that got sprayed by a skunk would say…” Said Lance.

Keith rolled his eyes. “You just don’t understand wild life. Townie.” Lance pouted while Hunk laughed. “Wait… You got sprayed by a skunk?”

Lance blushed a little and hung his head in shame. “Yeah… It was an accident.”

Keith grinned. “Wow… That’s just, wow.”

Pidge collapsed into a chair next to Hunk and sighed dramatically. “Fuck surgery.”

“What happened?” Asked Hunk.

Pidge sighed louder and slumped in her chair. “Okay… Alright… So this super preggo old dog comes in. They’re getting a C-section and neutered. So dad and Matt were cutting this old girl up and passing me the puppies to give them a wipe down and a shake. Nine squirmy boys. Well five squirmy boys and five squirmy girls.” 

“Aw, that’s adorable.” Cooed Hunk. “So many babies.”

“Yeah, but now we’re rotating who stays up with them to make sure that everyone’s okay and no pups wiggle away from their mum.” Grumbled Pidge. “I know I’m a night owl, But I can’t bring my laptop with me in case they pee on it or something. I have to bring my phone… Thank fuck Matt is taking the first shift. I need a beer. Hunk, beer me.”

Hunk rolled his eyes and gave her a water. “Drink his first.”

She glared at it, as if trying to will it into being alcohol. “... This isn’t beer.”

“Just drink the water.” Said Lance. “It’ll be good for you.”

Pidge pouted. “Whatever… You guys ordered any food yet? I want to drown myself in something ungodly cheesy and processed within an inch of its life. I demand my food not look like the thing it originally was.”

Lance shrugged. “Deep dish cheese pizza with cheese stuffed crust?”

“Perfect. Fuck me up with that mess… Also someone get some baskets of pickle chips.”

Lance rolled his eyes and got up. “Whatever. So two baskets of pickle chips, deep dish cheesy crust… Hunk?”

“Chicken alfredo.”

“Perfect. Keith?”

“Steak. Rare.”

“You got it.” Lance shot the table finger guns and walked off to order their food. 

When Lance was gone Pidge started to drink Lance’s drink for that alcohol. Hunk took the glass away. “Come on Pidge. Get your own drink if you want it.” 

“Ya’ll are bastards.” Grumbled Pidge. “Isn’t like the only perk of having a vagina is that guys are meant to buy me drinks?”

As she was whining Lance came back and lightly tapped her on the head with a coaster pager. “If you want free drinks from guys you gotta have boobs and an ass. You still look fifteen.”

“I’m twenty one! Bitch I could knock you out and neuter you if you piss me off! I have a key to that cabinet!”

“Well someone’s sassy today.” Mused Lance. “Anyway, Weather’s getting colder. Snow’s gonna start falling. Which means tourists are gonna start flooding the town again.”

Pidge rolled her eyes. “Don’t remind me… You have no idea how many assholes tried to skip out on vet bills because they were too rich to pay for it. How the fuck does that work?”

Hunk shrugged. “It’s not that bad. We pretty much always sell out around the end of the ski season when folks wanna take something nice home, or are stocking up on the car ride back.”

“Yeah, and I get to meet all the people that need their coffee or hot coco.” Said Lance.

“... I usually have to track down lost hikers and skiers…” Muttered Keith. “Sometimes they kind of just get lost. We kind of just do a patrol a few times a week to see if there’s anyone out there.” It wasn’t the happiest of jobs, but Kolivan said it was important to keep them away from places they shouldn’t be.

Hunk seemed surprised. “You guys do that?”

Keith shrugged. “Yeah. Kolivan owns most of the mountain. His family has for centuries. His family only sold about forty percent when the government was doing a buyback deal thing years ago. If they didn’t do that the Garrison wouldn’t exist.” Everyone seemed surprised to hear that. “You guys didn’t know that?”

“I thought it was all national park.” Said Pidge.

Keith shook his head. “Nope. Kolivan’s. He makes a killing when people illegally dump stuff on his land.”

“... That’s pretty cool.” Said Lance. “So like, is that why no one’s allowed to hunt all over the mountain?”

Keith nodded. “Yeah. You guys might hunt for fun, but we hunt to survive. If people start hunting here then there won’t be enough food around for us in winter. That would suck.”

“True.” Said Hunk. “That really would suck… Those wolves would move into town if that happened…”

Keith nodded. “Yeah, I-” He jumped when the pager suddenly started buzzing and flashing lights about. “Fuck!”

Lance chuckled and picked it up. “We’ll be back in a second. Help me out Hunk?”

“You got it buddy.” The two went to grab the food which meant Keith was left alone with Pidge. 

She had a cat-like smirk on her face as she grinned at him. For some reason Keith felt like he was facing down with a predator. He kind of had an urge to try and roll over submissively for her, but he was fighting it. He was fighting it hard. 

“What?”

“You got a phone?” She asked.

“Yeah?”

She held her hand out. “Hand it over.”

“Why?”

“So we can put our numbers in it.” She said. “Come on. Hand it over.”

Keith was very reluctant to hand over his phone. “No…”

Pidge glared at him. “What? You think I’m going to make fun of your phone? Give it. Now.”

With a frown he handed over his phone. It as nothing fancy. Had no apps on it. He only used it to call or text people in his pack, or Shiro. Pidge seemed a little surprised by his phone and started to go into his contacts.

While she was doing this Hunk and Lance came back and quickly handed out their food. Pidge still had her face in Keith’s phone while she tried to eat her pizza. Keith wanted to grab it back but he was kind of worried she’s think he was going for her food and she’d bite him. Granted it wasn’t a human trait to bite people going after their food. He still didn’t want to get bitten by her. In his pack it would be seen as a big no. You couldn’t go after someone’s food.

“What are you doing Pidge?” Asked Lance as he cut into his schnitzel. 

“Giving Keith our numbers.” She said. When she was done she messaged herself, Lance and Hunk. When she was done she passed the phone back to Keith and started really digging into her food.

Keith quickly grabbed his phone off of her and quickly looked through his phone to make sure she didn’t do anything weird. Thankfully she didn’t and Keith was able to eat in peace. The steak was nice. Cooked almost the way Keith liked it. He usually ate his steak blue. Which was cooking it for one minute on each side. Just enough to brown the outside. He was a carnivore. Sue him.

Banter quickly whittled down to the trio talking about games and TV shows. Things Keith didn’t know about. He didn’t have a TV or an internet connection. He just didn’t have time to watch TV or play games. It was an invisible barrier between them. It was kind of sad. They were the same age and lived in the same town but they were still so different. And that wasn’t even going into the fact that he was a werewolf.

“...”

“Keith?”

His eyes shot up from his food. “Huh?”

Pidge rolled her eyes. “Come on man. We asked a simple question.”

“... What was the question?”

Hunk smiled a little and shrugged. “We were just talking about movies. We were just talking about upcoming movies that we want to see.”

“We’re totally seeing Voltron; Defender of the Universe!” Said Pidge. “Giant robot movie. It’s an americanized version so it might turn into an M. Night Shama-llama-ding-dong mess, but we have hope.”

“Is it originally Japanese?” He asked.

Lance nodded. “Yeah. They had a TV series and a comic-”

“Manga.” Corrected Pidge

“-Whatever weeaboo. Anyway it has a lot of stuff.”

Keith nodded. “So it’s kind of like Rodan, Gappa or Megaguirus?”

“More like power rangers.” Said Hunk.

Pidge gave him a strange look. “You watch Kaiju movies?”

Keith shrugged. He did like Kaiju movies. Monster movies in general. But they were so old they would probably think it was weird. He was already weird enough. “Not really, I just happened to be at Shiro’s place and there was a Kaiju marathon on TV…”

Pidge grinned. “Okay. Do you know who the clover field monster is?”

“Yeah?”

“Is that a Kaiju?

“Well is King Kong a Kaiju?”

“... Are whales a Kaiju?”

“Is bigfoot a Kaiju?”

“Is Lance’s ego a Kaiju?”

“Hey!” Snapped Lance. “The fuck Pidge?”

She shrugged. “It’s big enough to be a Kaiju.”

“Why must you vex me so?” Whined Lance. He proceeded to drown his sorrows in beer. Keith couldn’t help but smile as his tailbone started to tingle. He was glad he came out tonight. Did this mean he was now friends with more townies? Townies that were around his age for once? The tingling in his tail bone was getting stronger.

***

Lance thought things were going pretty well. Keith seemed like he was having a good time, though he was pretty quiet. He didn’t seem like the most social of individuals, but that was fine. As long as he didn’t accidentally piss him off again things would be fine. Keith was the first at the table to finish eating and excused himself to grab another beer from the bar.

When he was gone Lance leaned forward. “Okay. So what do you guys think of him?”

Pidge shrugged. “I already liked Keith. Now I know he knows Kaiju films. Matt is going to rip into him about what is a Kaiju.”

Hunk smiled. “He seems nice. I like him.”

“Probably should have asked us that before I gave him all our phone numbers.” Said Pidge.

Lance rolled his eyes. “Whatever Pidge. Glad we all like him.”

“Try not to blow up his phone.” Said Pidge. “He’s used to people only texting him if something bad is happening.”

Lance pouted. He wasn’t going to blow up Keith’s phone. He’d just ask him if he wanted to hang out. Ask him what he was doing, Send him cute pictures. Get him to join instagram. Slide into his DMs and play it all smooth… Okay he would blow up his phone. Not his fault. He was a disaster and when he was interested in someone. He kind of just threw himself at them in a desperate attempt for them to like him. He knew it didn’t work and was pretty much something that might get him an r/niceguy or an r/JustNeckbeardTings post on reddit someday, but he was trying to be better. In hindsight he always knew what he did wrong but in the moment he was an ass.

Keith came back with his beer and sat down. He smiled a little and drank his drink. He easily downed half of it in one go. 

“Heavy drinker?” Asked Hunk.

Keith shook his head. “This is kind of weak compared to what I usually drink.”

“Your moonshine is evil.” Said Lance. “It felt like it was peeling the enamel off my teeth.”

Keith smiled a little and rolled his eyes. “Weak.”

The rest of the evening was spent with a bit more drinking, talking and Pidge hoarding the pickle chips like the angry pickle hoarding dragon she was. Eventually though everyone started to leave. Which was how Lance ended up outside with Keith.

He seemed content to just stand outside for a bit and look up at the sky. “Kind of cloudy tonight.”

Lance looked up. “Yeah, I guess it is… You need help getting home?”

Keith shrugged. “I’m not that drunk. I can walk home just fine.”

“I can drive you. I’ve only had like… Two beers. I’ll be fine to drive.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I used the breathalyzer thing that have in there. I’m under the limit.” He took his keys out and gestured over to his car. It was a little beat up, but it was second hand after all. “Come on. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“We crash and die.” Said Keith. “... Fuck it, let’s go.” Keith climbed into the car and put on his seat belt and Lance happily drove him back. He glanced over to when Keith started to wind down the window and very subtly leaned out of it. He seemed happy to have a bit of breeze on his face. He closed his eyes and just had this calm look on his face. He was beautiful.

Lance blushed a little and kept his eyes on the road. Infatuation was fine as long as he didn’t crash his damn car. When he got to the dirt road he slowed down and stopped. “Um, is there enough room for me to turn around?”

“Probably not. I’ll walk back from here.” He got out of the car and looked back at Lance before he closed the door. “Um… Thanks for inviting me out. I had fun.”

Lance grinned. “Hey, no problem. Anytime. We all liked hanging out with you. Say hi to Keefy for me.”

Keith chuckled a little. “Will do. Drive home safely.”

“Will do.” He watched Keith walk along the dirt path a bit in the direction of his home and let out a small sigh of relief. This was good. Things were working out well. As long as Keith wasn’t straight then he could work with this… If he was straight he could at least be friends with him. He’d know a lot of cool survival things.

***

Keith’s tailbone was tingling the whole way back home. Hanging out with them wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. He thought it would be way more awkward, but this was good. He liked it. He liked being able to talk with people his own age and not talk about pack stuff. Maybe he’d try talking to Pidge more when he was dropping off dog treats or Hunk if he wanted to get some bread? Maybe if he had some money while in town he’d get some coffee or something from the cafe Lance worked at?

His happy mood quickly changed when he got to his home and realised that someone was in his cabin. The lights were on and the generator was lightly humming. He sniffed the air and calmed down slightly. He couldn’t smell any outsiders. It was someone from his pack. Kolivan?

Keith cautiously opened up his door and looked in. “Hello?”

Sitting on the couch was a woman. She smiled at Keith and waved at him slightly. “Hello Keith. I’m back.”

Keith was surprised. “Mum? When did you get back?” He went over to her and gave her a hug.

Krolia happily hugged back and ruffled his hair. “About an hour ago. Would you mind if I just spend the night here before I head back to my cabin? I’m beat.”

“Yeah sure. Want something to drink?”

“No thanks. Just get me a blanket and I’ll be good.”

“Sure.” Keith went and got her a blanket. “So how was working on that illegal weed farm?”

Krolia shrugged. “It pays well and people I help are more like hippies than drug lords. Either way, I have more than enough money to supplement my hunting this winter… You need any money to fix anything up?”

Keith shook his head. “No I’m good.”

She frowned a little and nudged him. “Hmm, okay. So how have you been? Antok happened to run into me at the bus stop and apparently you’ve gotten into trouble.”

“Oh…”

“Keith, just because you look like a domesticated pet doesn’t mean you can just run around with the townies.” She warned. “They might try to keep you as a pet.”

“Yeah… Speaking of pets, you had me microchipped.

“... I can explain.” Said Krolia. “When you were younger you kept getting into places where you shouldn’t. Getting you microchipped was meant to make sure that if you did get caught when you were younger your dad could pick you up…” She got quiet at the mention of his dad. It was an unwritten rule in their pack that they don’t talk about him when she was around.

Keith just nodded and gave her another hug. “Okay. I just wanted to know why I was chipped and called Keefy… I’m going to go to bed now. We’ll talk more in the morning.”

“Sounds good. Night honey.” She kissed his cheek. “Sleep well pup.”

He smiled at her and went to bed. Krolia was happy enough to make do on the couch. If she needed anything she knew where to get it.


	7. Full-moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The boys continue to be dumb. Lance more so than Keith, but they are both still our dumb boys. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Keith woke up to the smell of something burning and Krolia swearing. He cautiously looked into the kitchen to see her opening the kitchen window to fan the smoke out of a pan. It brought back nostalgic memories of childhood when she would try to cook for him when he was younger. Needless to say his dad was the one that did all the cooking.

“With your cooking skills I’m surprised I’m still alive.” He noted.

Krolia pouted and dropped the pan in the sink. “Well I wanted to cook you something nice for breakfast… I took my eyes off the pan for a second and everything just burnt.”

“What did you burn?” Asked Keith.

“Bacon.” She muttered. “Well I guess we’re just having eggs and toast.”

“I’m good with that.”

The two of them got their food and sat at the small dining table to eat. Krolia told Keith all kinds of stories about what she got up to over the past few months. Keith told her about some of the things he got up to. Most of it was very innocuous and mundane. Then he happened to mention what he got up to on his last run. 

She chuckled a little and lightly poked Keith’s stomach. “Thought you were starting to get a little pudgy there. All that high calorie food is gonna make you round.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Wouldn’t be so bad with the snow and all that. It would help keep me warm. Wish I could hibernate like a bear.”

“Don’t we all… Anyway, you’ve run into that townie a lot over the past few days.”

“Yeah… Well, Lance has run into me a lot in my wolf form… Which is why Kolivan’s mad at me.”

“Understandable.” Krolia put the dishes in the sink and went to grab her bag. “Before I go I have something for you…” She took a jar out of her bag. It was filled with a pulpy green and purple plant material. “Here. A fresh jar of Full-moon.”

Keith nodded and took the jar from her. A special blend. Something that he was pretty sure only his pack knew about. It was always good to keep a jar of one of these in the house. It was a special blend of plants and herbs that when drunk would make a normal human sick, but if drunk by a werewolf it would force them to transform into their wolf form without the aid of the full moon. Hence the name. It was good for about a year and his last batch was close to expiring.

“Thanks.” He went to put it in his cupboard with his other things. “So, you heading back to your cabin now?”

“Yep.” She hugged Keith tightly and rubbed her cheek up against his. “Come by soon. Don’t be a stranger pup.”

Keith smiled a little and nuzzled back. “Okay. I’ll come by next week. I’ll bring some rabbits.”

“Thank you Keith. You’re a good pup.” She waved him goodbye and left. Keith smiled a little and watched her go. He wasn’t too sure what he was going to do today. He didn’t really know what to do. Though he did have a fresh jar of Full-moon and he did need to scent mark around his cabin. He sighed and started to chug water while getting the Full-moon and a spoon.

***

Lance was glad Allura let him have the afternoon shifts. Sleeping in was a godsend. Lance loved being able to sleep in late. He always felt refreshed when he woke up and meant he could go for a walk before work. He’d decided that maybe he’d start walking along the dirt road near Keith’s place.

After all Kolivan didn’t mind people coming onto his land for hiking as long as they didn’t mess it up. At least that’s what Lance kind of got from Keith’s explanation from the night before. He put on his running shoes and happily left his house at around eight thirty.

The day was pretty nice. There were a few other people out running or going for walks, so he wouldn’t seem so odd going for a walk there, right? He totally wasn’t walking that way to maybe see Keith at some point. No sir… But if he happened to see Keith it would be rude not to say hi to him. Right?

He was about to walk towards the dirt road and ended up passing Shiro’s house. The man was leaning against his fence and going through his mail. He smiled and waved at him. “Morning Lance. Going for a walk?”

“Yeah. Kind of thought I might try a mountain trail or something.”

Shiro nodded. “Sounds nice. Stay on the paths. You know about the care boxes right?”

“Keith showed me the other day.”

“Good.” He hummed a little as he separated his mail from the junk mail. “If you happen to see Keith tell him I said hi.”

“Will do.” Lance smiled and happily walked down the dirt road. He vaguely glanced over to the area where Keith’s cabin was. There was no way he could see it from the road. Still, he kind of wished that he could see it… But would Keith be annoyed if he saw him again? They had seen each other a fair bit over the past week and Keith was generally antisocial. Would he be upset if he saw Lance again? Was this leaning more into stalker territory? He hoped not.

Some shrubbery near him started to rustle and Lance jumped back a little. Maybe it was a rabbit? Maybe it was the skunk family Keith had mentioned? He hoped not. He didn’t want to get sprayed by a skunk again. Pidge would laugh at him while drowning him in tomatoes.

A small black face popped out of the bushes and started up at him with wide eyes. “Yip? Yip! Yip! Yip! Yip!”

Lance stared back pomeranian and crouched down. “Oh hey there Keefy. What are you doing out here today? Are you stuck in a bush?” He reached out and very carefully helped the tiny dog out. He was still surprised that a bush person would have a dog this small as a pet. 

The dog didn’t look too happy but let Lance do as he pleased. Lance sat down on the road and put Keefy in his lap. He started to pick out the random leaves and sticks that got caught in his fur. There was surprisingly a lot.

“What are you doing all the way out here?” He asked the pup.

“Arf!”

“Chatty little thing aren’t you?”

“Grrrrr!”

“Well it’s true… And you got a leaf on your butt.” When he was done he ran his fingers through Keith’s fur to make the dog feel d]good. “Feeling good now pup.”

“Yip!” Keefy jumped out of his lap and did a quick shake. That just made his body all the more fluffy and adorable. Keefy then sneezed and almost headbutted the ground. “Arf!”

“Aw, it’s okay Keefy.” He cooed. “The mean ground isn’t gonna hurt you. No need to fight it.”

If looks could kill Lance would swear he just got killed by a pomeranian. Keefy huffed and quickly walked down a small trail off the road. They paused for a moment and looked over at Lance. “Yip?”

“... You want me to follow you?” Questioned Lance.

“Yip!” Keefy wiggled his tail and quickly started to walk down the trail. Every few steps he looked over his shoulder to make sure that Lance was following him. Was Lance really going to risk his life for a pomeranian? Yes. Yes his was. He was a sucker for those innocent puppy dog eyes. And also very, very dumb.

He sighed and followed Keefy back down to Keith’s cabin. When they were close enough Keefy quickly ran through the open door. Seconds later Keith stumbled out of the cabin. He was shirtless and wearing jeans. His hair was all messy like he had just rolled out of bed. He quietly thanked Keith for this blessed image.

“H-hey Keith.” He stuttered. “What up?”

“Nothing much… Do you often follow dogs into the woods?”

“...”

Keith leaned against the door frame and looked Lance over. “You go for runs in the woods often?”

“Um… Yeah? Well, not in the woods, but I do like going for runs and stuff…Walks… So Keefy is staying with you?”

“Um, yeah. He’s gone and hidden under the bed again. Probably napping like the lazy fuck he is.”

“Right… So um… Not got anything to do today?” 

Keith shrugged. “Yeah. Just typical things. Stuff I need to get done to prepare for winter. You going to work at the ski resort this year too?”

Lance nodded. “Yeah. You gonna find some work up there?”

“They always need a few of us up there.” Said Keith. “We’ll be up their making sure trails are good and no one skis into our backyard. After what happened a few years ago we’ve had to put a fence up around our cemetery.”

Lance’s eyes went wide. “You guys have a cemetery?!”

Keith suddenly looked worried, like he had said the wrong thing. “I-I um… It’s legal. It’s kind of old and historical. The only way you can get buried there is if you’re part of our group and have Kolivan’s permission. Iverson knows about it and we like, have always registered deaths with them so they have records and stuff but like… It isn’t that weird.”

“Um… I guess? I just didn’t think about you guys having your own cemetery…” These people never ceased to amaze him. 

“Yeah… Um… Don’t mention it to anyone. Okay?” He muttered. “A few years ago there was a lot of stupid assholes coming by to try and film some crazy supernatural stuff or something… It was annoying… We don’t need shit heads coming here and disrespecting our people.”

“Totally get it man. My lips are sealed… So um… I guess I should probably head on back to town… Which is in a… That kind of direction?”

“... You have no sense of direction do you?”

“No…”

Keith sighed. “Let me get some shoes on…” He disappeared into the cabin and came back out with shoes on and dark red tank top. “Come on.”

“What about Keefy?”

“Hmm?”

“Should you really leave him alone like that? He’s really cute and I’m happy to have him walk with us for a bit. Dogs love going on walks.” Truthfully he felt that if Keefy was there with him then he could keep his eyes on the pup and not at the incredibly hot Asian man.

“Nah. Keefy is dead to the world right now. Not even the smell of bacon could wake him that the moment.” Said Keith as he started to walk back towards the road.

Lance nodded and followed closely behind him. “Right… Um… Your cabin is nice.”

“Thanks. Your cottage is nice too.”

“Tha- You know where I live?”

Keith paused for a moment. “Yeah. Pidge mentioned where you lived before and… Well not like the exact place and stuff, but the general area and the houses there are more like cottages and I’ve walked through there before so I’m just assuming you live in one of the cottages and it looks nice too or something…”

“Oh okay… Um, if you like you can drop by sometime? My place is number twenty two.” Said Lance. “I have this water themed wind chime hanging out the front and a bird feeder that these asshole squirrels keep breaking.”

Keith nodded. “Yeah. I know the house… Once saw a really fat squirrel grab hold of it and made it fall last Winter.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Yeah. I remember. Last Winter that fat ass broke three of them.” 

“Maybe you should give up on the bird feeder?” He suggested.

Lance shrugged. “I like birds… And the squirrels are fine as long as they don’t break my stuff…”

“Fair enough… Um, is there any time you want me to come over?”

“Huh?”

“To your place.” Clarified Keith. “I don’t want to come over at a weird time when you’re like out or something.”

“Oh, um… Pretty much any time after nine in the morning but before one.” Said Lance. “And any time after nine at night. But I’m going to be at the cafe then. Takes me some time to get home after that. But I’m usually up for about an hour or two when I get home.”

Keith nodded. “Okay… Should I put up a fence or something?”

“Huh? Why?”

“So you don’t keep getting lost.” Said Keith. “Maybe I’ll just stick some poles in the ground and get some string?”

“Aw, you’d do that for me?”

Keith shrugged. “If you’re going to keep following random dogs out into the forest I might as well. You need all the help you can get here and back… That is assuming you want to visit me?”

“Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I?”

Keith gave Lance a confused look as they made it back to the dirt road. “Because we don’t really have that much in common… I mean, we grew up in completely different worlds. I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t want to come by that often… Plus I’m kind of hard to contact if you ever do want to meet up. Cell service anywhere too far from town is shit.”

“... Are you trying to make excuses for me not to see you anymore?” Asked Lance. “Okay, maybe I came on a little strong but I li-”

“It’s not that.” Said Keith quickly. “Well, kind of… I just…” He sighed. “I’m not used to all of this… I can go for weeks without talking to people and um… I feel like I’ve filled my quota for talking to people for the next few months this past week…”

“Oh… Sorry… I um, I didn’t realise… Sorry.” Now Lance felt bad. He had really come on too strong. “Sorry…”

“It’s fine.” Said Keith. “Being around people is exhausting for me. I don’t understand how you can interact with people and not get tired…”

“Oh… okay.” Yeah, Lance still felt bad. “Sorry. I’m much more of an extrovert. Didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I um… I’ll try and not follow random dogs from now on.”

Keith nodded. “Okay. Good. Um… See you around I guess?”

“Yeah. See you around… Have you thought maybe keeping Keefy on a leash?” Asked Lance. “Like, he’s a really small dog. Something bad could happen to him… I don’t want him getting attacked or eaten by something out here…”

“I understand… I’ll keep a closer eye on him… Thanks for looking out for him.” Said Keith. “Keefy might not act like it, but he appreciates what you’ve done for him.”

“Pretty sure he just likes me because I fed him.”

Keith chuckled. “Yeah. That too. Keefy does love a free meal. He’s going to get fat.”

“Aw, he’s gonna be like my sister’s dog, snoopy! He turned into a real big sausage dog… Then he got put on a diet. Now he’s back to normal.” Said Lance. “Fatty once ate a cheese cake.”

Keith smiled and shook his head. “I’m not surprised. See you around Lance. Don’t get lost on the way back to town.”

“No promises.” Said Lance as he quickly walked back to town. “You take care now.”

“You too. Bye.”

When Lance made it safely back to town he couldn't help but groan. Of course Keith was an introvert. He probably thought he was so weird suddenly coming over like it was no big deal. He was so fucking stupid. He’d leave Keith alone for a few days. Maybe he’d be less weirded out if he did that?

***

When Lance was far enough away Keith walked back to his cabin and forcefully punched himself in the tailbone. It hadn’t stopped tingling since he started talking with Lance. Maybe he was getting sick or something? Probably because it was starting to get cold. His tailbone sometimes tingled when the weather started to get colder.


	8. Please don't bite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Merry holiday times! Enjoy your wolf based present from me to you. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

The days leading up to winter were crazy for Keith. Lots of gathered wood, hunting, and reinforcing his cabin to make sure it was going to stay warm all winter. Keith was sure everything was up to scratch. His cabin was warm, his pantry was stocked, and he was ready to brave winter… But first he needed a new jacket.

His old jacket got ripped last winter and he desperately needed a new one. So he was down at the thrift shop looking for jackets. If he couldn’t find a jacket he could always buy a few warm jumpers and just layer up.

He happened to walk into the thrift shop with Ulaz. The man was looking for a few shirts and they decided to help each other out a little. Keith helped Ulaz pick out a nice cotton one that he wanted to use for medicinal purposes. Keith wasn’t going to ask. Ulaz helped Keith pick out a jacket that fitted him and didn’t look too bad. It also smelled okay which was a huge bonus. A little like beer, but that was better than bad B.O.

Ulaz nodded a little as he watched Keith wave his arms around with the jacket on. “That looks good. Dark colours look good on you.”

“Thanks.” Keith shrugged it off and went to pay for it. It was wonderfully cheap too. $7. He put it on as soon as he bought it. It was nice. It was soft and warm and had several pockets. Keith liked pockets.

The two of them walked out of the shop and looked up at the sky. There was a chill in the air and they could it was going to snow soon. The tourists would come. It was annoying but they would deal with it. They always did.

“The next run is tonight.” Said Ulaz.

“Yeah.”

“Krolia is going to pick you up.”

“I know…” Keith didn’t want to go for a winter run. A normal run was bad enough. But when Winter came around it was just the worst. His paws didn’t just get cold. Everything got cold. It wasn’t fun to drag his stomach around in the snow freezing off all his bits. On more than one occasion he would have to hold a warm mug against his crotch after a Winter run. Just so he could get some feeling back in his nuts. It was not fun.

“You know we won’t let you keep running off and not joining us.” Warned Ulaz. “You’re part of our pack and we’re going to include you in what we do.”

Keith shrugged. “I’m too small to be useful. It would be better for the pack if I just stayed around my cabin.”

Ulaz frowned and put his hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Keith. None of us care how big or small your werewolf form is. It is good in its own way. If we ever need someone in town during a run you’re the one we will need.”

“Yeah, when has that ever happened though?” Asked Keith. “Isn’t one of our rules not to go into town during a run?”

“Well yeah, but-”

“You don’t need to make me feel better.” Said Keith. “Just… I’ll show up for the meeting part, but then I’m going home. No point staying around when I’m useless.”

“You’re not useless.” Said Ulaz calmly. He looked down the street. “Come. We’re getting something warm to drink.”

Keith reluctantly nodded and followed Ulaz to the first coffee shop. Which happened to be the coffee shop that Lance worked at. Maybe the coffee was cheap here or something? He didn’t pay much attention to prices the last time he was in.

Allura was behind the counter and happily smiled at them. “Good afternoon. What can I get you two?”

“Two hot chocolates.” Said Ulaz. “Large.”

Allura nodded and quickly got to work. As she worked Keith craned his neck to try and see if Lance was in the backroom. He couldn’t tell. He couldn’t even sniff him out since the smell of coffee was so strong.

“Lance isn’t here.” Said Allura.

“Huh?”

“Lance is up at our seasonal shop at the resort. He’s been running all the non perishables up and making sure everything is still clean and ready to go when it opens up next week.” She said.

“Oh, okay.” 

Allura chuckled a little and handed the men their drinks. She also gave them a free cookie. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”

The two quickly left and Keith took a sip of his drink. It tasted like he was drinking melted chocolate. “Oh wow…”

Ulaz chuckled and handed the cookies to Keith. “I take it you like it? The drinks here are the best.”

“Yeah. Didn’t realise how nice this was… I don’t usually buy drinks unless it’s water bottles.”

The older man nodded in agreement. “Water is best. But having something high in calories is good for us… I suggest you eat more fatty foods. You’re small. You need fat. Essential for your survival.”

“I know.” Said Keith. “I’m considering buying and eating some pork belly.”

“Good. Do it. It’s for the best.”

***

Making sure that the seasonal shop was okay was a pretty easy task for Lance. He was done pretty quickly and had a lot of free time on his hands. Since he had nothing to do he went ahead and started looking up stories about Mount Altea. He couldn’t help it. Keith had intrigued him about the stories of people going into his groups cemetery.

He did find a blog dedicated to finding strange and abandoned places. There were a few on Mount Altea. The person running this blog, a guy called Rolo, did a basic intro on Mount Altea. He talked about its history; when the town started, big events, things like that. He was also nice enough to write a short transcript of the main points.

_Mount Altea was first colonised in 1878 by wood cutters. However due to the high wildlife population there logging was quickly abandoned._

_Another lumber mill was attempted in 1881. This also failed months into development. However there were strange stories about monsters living on the mountain that were stalking them and destroying their machinery._

_Because of the rumours that started to go around about monsters living on the mountain the locals decided that the land was cursed and wouldn’t dare go near it in fear of getting attacked and killed by whatever was there._

_The entire mountain was eventually bought by a local man called George Aspen. He made it private land and no one was allowed to enter it. He, his family, and a few other families have lived on the mountain for generations._

_In 1955 the government was able to buy back a significant amount of land from the Aspen clan for an undisclosed amount of monet and the town of Garrison was formed_

_It’s strongly suspected that the descendants of George Aspen and the rest of the families might be inbreed because of their low population and their self imposed isolation. There’s no real evidence in support or against this as none of them have taken DNA tests or DNA tests that are open to the public._

_Local legends say that the Aspen clan breeded with the monsters on the mountain and their descendants are the result of monster, human hybrids._

“... Okay, that’s enough internet for one day.” Muttered Lance. Lance was kind of skeptical when it came to most things, so reading about how a group of people were apparently monsters kind of made him roll his eyes in annoyance. He’d read more about it later.

He quickly checked the clock and headed out. It had gotten pretty late now. Lance quickly shot Allura a text letting her know everything was good for opening when the resort started letting in guests. Allura sent him lots of heart and smiley faced emojis. So she was pleased.

Lance grinned at that and happily drive home. By the time he got there it was dark and the snow was starting to fall. First snowfall of the season. Lance couldn’t help but feel all bubbly inside. Sure his heart belonged to Summer, but he loved Winter too. The only annoying thing was shoveling and salting the driveway.

He walked up to his house and paused when he saw something small and black sitting on his welcome mat. “Keefy?”

The dog looked up at him and wagged his tail. “Yip!”

Lance grinned and picked up the sassy pomeranian. “Aw, you ran all the way here to see me? Do you think I have steak for you tonight?”

“Yip!”

“Well you’re out of luck tonight. No steak.”

“...” Keefy let out a mournful whine.

Lance rolled his eyes and walked into the house with Keefy. “Sorry about that. It’s microwave dinner night because I am feeling lazy. You’re getting a can of tuna.”

“Yip.”

Lance put his cheap microwaved meal in his microwave and looked into his cupboard to see what kind of tuna he had. He had tuna in olive oil. Perfect. Pidge was always going on about the benefits of olive oil for dog coats and what not. It was also the sandwich style stuff so no chunks. Good for a little dog like Keefy.

He happily scooped it into a bowl for Keefy and put it in front of him. The dog looked confused for a moment before he happily ate it. Lance just chuckled at how happy Keefy was with his tuna, and took his own dinner out of the microwave when it dinged.

There was nothing like eating a relatively cheap microwave pasta thing. Lance really wasn’t sure what it was, but it tasted fine with a can of beer and some TV.

***

Halfway through eating the tuna given to him Keith paused. He had no idea what he was doing. Kolivan was going to kick his ass again, but Ulaz said he needed to gain weight for winter, and eating the stuff townies ate was going to help him put on the pounds… Plus Lance liked him when he looked like a dog.

He sighed a little and quickly finished eating before he went to see what Lance was doing. He was watching something in Spanish on TV. Possibly some drama. The people were overreacting and being unrealistically dramatic.

With a bit of effort Keith jumped up onto the couch and sat next to Lance. He didn’t know what Lance was eating, but it smelled good and he wanted some. He put his paws against Lance’s thigh and gently shifted his weight to try and get his attention.

He looked down at Keith and raised an eyebrow. “Hmm? Yeah?”

_“Feed me some of what you got.”_

“You still hungry there boy?” Lance wiped some sauce off the side of the container and held his finger out to Keith. “Tell me what you think.”

_“... This is so undignified.”_ Grumbled Keith. He licked the sauce off of Lance’s finger. It was some kind of meat sauce. He liked it. _“I want more.”_

Instead of giving him more Lance patted his head and gave him scratch near his ear. In an instant Keith melted and leaned into his hand like it was the best thing in the world. Which honestly, it was. Lance really knew how to make a dog happy.

Which honestly made Keith kind of depressed. People seemed to like him more as a dog. Humans fed him and didn’t think twice about him. They all seemed to move and adore him. Even Lance seemed to like him more as a dog than a human. The last time they spoke he was all concerned about his dog form rather than him. It was annoying.

Still, Keith wedged himself up against Lance’s leg. He was warm and Keith was small and kind of cold. Luckily Lance seemed to like that and happily gave Keith a few more pats. Keith sighed contently and leaned against Lance more. He could see why domesticated dogs were so happy to have owners. Having a nice human to give them scratches was nice.

“... You think Keith would get mad if I asked to keep you?” Asked Lance.

Keith looked up at Lance in surprise. Did Lance just admit that he wanted to keep him? Firstly that would never happen. Secondly, he was pretty sure that Lance would change his mind if he knew he was actually a werewolf.

_“Yeah, not happening. I might look cute now but you’re gonna hate me if you see me mid transformation.”_ Said Keith. _“Get yourself a real dog. One that isn’t a werewolf.”_

Lance had finished eating by this point and leaned back on the couch with his beer in hand. He lazily rested his hand over Keith and sighed loudly. “He’d probably get mad at me if I asked him that though, huh? He’d probably go off about townies thinking they can do whatever they want or something…” He sighed and started scratching Keith. Carefully running his fingers over his chest, which Keith liked quite a lot. “I mean, some people might be like that, but I’m not like that, I don’t think? I just really like you and I’m worried you’re going to get eaten by a wolf…”

_“Fair, but I’m seriously not going to get eaten by anyone. Hell, we have a few bears on the East side of the mountain. They know I’m a werewolf and back down when I growl at them.”_ He kicked Lance’s hand away when he felt that he was straying a little too close to his stomach. _“Don’t touch my stomach.”_

“I mean, you’re so small, and tiny.” Said Lance, seemingly ignoring Keith’s warning kick. “I like dogs. I like all animals. Cat’s are cute, dogs are adorable, cows are sweet, and even snakes are babies.” His hand drifted back down. 

Keith growled a little and kicked his fingers away again. _”Last warning. Stop it.”_

“Like, do you think he would be mad at me? Should I just get my own dog? There’s a pet shop in the next town over… Maybe I should ask Pidge if she knows any breeders around here? I don’t-”

His hand brushed up against Keith’s stomach. _”QUIT IT!”_ Without thinking Keith quickly swung his head around and bit Lance. He bit him hard. He tasted blood. _“... FUCK!”_

“Ow!” Lance quickly pulled his hand away from Keith. “Did I hit a ticklish spot or something?”

Keith jumped up and stared at Lance in horror. _“How are you not freaking out? Fuck! I’m dead! Kolivan’s going to skin me alive! I’m going to end up as some shitty doormat! Fuck! I’m dead! Why the fuck did I bite you? Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”_

While Keith was freaking out Lance left the room and came back with his hand all bandaged up. He sat next to Keith and carefully picked him up, putting him on his lap. “Hey there boy, calm down. I know you didn’t mean to bite me.”

Keith was still quietly freaking out. Lance didn’t understand the gravity of this situation. Keith was a werewolf. Lance just got bitten by a werewolf. Sure he wasn’t a full blooded werewolf since his dad was human, but still there was a huge chance he could have just infected Lance. Then again he wasn’t spontaneously sprouting fur anywhere or starting to drool, so maybe he was okay? 

No, Keith had been told it takes a day for the werewolf infection to incubate. Lance wouldn’t be showing any signs until tomorrow, if it had taken hold of him. He really hoped this wasn’t the case. Lance would freak, Kolivan would freak, the pack would freak. Keith would be in such deep shit if Lance turned. What was he going to do if he turned?

_“I’m so fucking dead…”_ He whined.

Lance just chuckled and patted him some more. “Aw, are you worried about me? Don’t worry. I put some antibacterial stuff on the bite. It’s all clean.”

_“That’s not why I am worried you dumb ass.”_ Whined Keith. _“I might have just made you a werewolf! Fuck! You have any idea how messed up this is? I’m going to have anxiety until this month’s run is over!”_

Lance hummed a little and just kept patting Keith. “You’re a big sweetie.” He cooed.

Keith whined, jumped off Lance’s lap and quickly ran to the front door. He was going to get some help with this. Now. He scratched the front door and whined loudly.

Lance got up and walked to the door. He sighed dramatically and walked over to him. “Just using me for food again? I see how it is. I know how our relationship works. You stick around long enough for the food and then you leave me. What am I to you? Am I some kind of foodie call to you or something? Like a booty call but like, for food.”

Keith glared at him and started scratching the door again. Lance opened the door and Keith bolted out of there as fast as he could. He was in such deep shit now. His pack was going to kill him.

***

It took Keith about two hours before he found Krolia. She was close to her cabin. She was taking full advantage of her werewolf form and clearing any trees that had fallen around her cabin. The snow was already up to Keith’s shoulders by the time he got there.

_“Mum!”_ He yipped. _“I messed up! I messed up real bad!”_

Krolia looked down at Keith and put down the log she had picked up. _“What did you do pup?”_

_“I… I um… I bit Lance!”_

Krolia’s eyes went wide with shock. _“You what?”_ She picked Keith up with both hands and held him close to her muzzle. _“You bit Lance? How? Why? Why were anywhere near Lance?!”_

Keith whined. He knew he was in trouble. _“Ulaz said I needed to eat more fatty foods! Townies have fatty foods! Lance likes to feed me! He fed me and then he started patting me and he rubbed my stomach and I snapped! I didn’t mean to bite him!”_

Krolia sighed and sat in the snow with her son. _“Okay… This isn’t too bad… We can work with this. Since you’re not a pure werewolf you might not be able to infect other people… For the next two nights we’re going to have to stake out Lance’s home and make sure that he isn’t showing any symptoms.”_

_“We’re going to have to tell Kolivan, aren’t we?”_

_“Not if Lance isn’t infected.”_ Said Krolia. _“Who knows? Maybe he’s like Shiro and immune to the werewolf infection? For all we know Lance’s ancestors could have been werewolf hunters too.”_

_“I guess… But I still bit him!”_ Whined Keith. _“What if I infected him? What happens then?”_

Krolia frowned a little as she thought about this. _“... We will have to tell Kolivan… I’ll talk to him and make sure that Antok is there too. They won’t be happy if your bite did turn him, but still… If he is a werewolf we will have to welcome Lance into the pack. Stray werewolves without a pack do not survive long… Shiro might have to take care of it if it doesn’t-”_

_“NO!”_ Barked Keith. _“Shiro won’t have to deal with Lance! If he is a werewolf I’ll take full responsibility for it! I’m the dumbass that bit him!”_

Krolia sighed and ran her claws through Keith’s fur. _“We will cross that bridge when we get there…”_

_“Yeah… This is why I’m not allowed to talk to townies isn’t it?”_

_“... Did you really just figure that out now?”_


	9. Cravings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It might be Christmas for some of you but for me it's boxing day and I had nothing to do today but eat prawns, ham, and write another chapter. So here is your chapter. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Lance was feeling a little weird. Ever since he had woken up he’d felt kind of lethargic and itchy. This was not good. He first wondered if he had gotten mange from Keefy. Oh lord he better not have gotten mange. Pidge wouldn’t let him hear the end of it if he did. 

But if he did have mange he needed to get it sorted out right now. So he headed to the vets early in the morning. He was a little surprised to see Matt at the front desk today. He looked up at him and grinned. “Hey there Lance. What’s up? Pidge’s not working today. She’s still sleeping.”

“Probably for the best.” Muttered Lance. “Okay, look, long story short I think I might have mange? Please check.”

Matt raised an eyebrow. “Mange? Really? Have you been handling strange animals again?”

“I need to stop touching animals, don’t I?”

“Yep.” Matt sighed and stood up. “Okay, come with me. I’ll give you a once over.” They walked into one of the exam rooms and Matt quickly put on some rubber gloves. “Okay, so you do know the most common mange in humans is scabies, right?”

“... Fuck.”

“Yeah, anyway… You got any weird bumpy rashes anywhere? Like in your armpits? Elbow joints and knee joints? Your butt? Feet? Itchy around your dick?” Asked Matt.

Lance blushed and quickly shook his head. “No none of that… Well I guess armpit kind of and scalp…” Matt just nodded, grabbed a comb and started brushing. “Hey!”

“Sorry. I’m not used to my patients being able to talk back… Just be thankful this is me doing this and not Pidge.”

“True…”

Matt hummed and after a few minutes he took some of the scrapings from the comb and checked it under the microscope. “... You got dandruff.” 

“Oh, well as long as it isn’t scabies that’s good.” Said Lance.

Matt smiled. “Yeah. Way better to have dandruff and not scabies. Let me just quickly check your armpits anyway just to make sure.”

“Right.” Lance quickly took off his shirt and Matt had a quick look. 

“... Hmmm, doesn’t look like you have scabies. Why did you think you had it in the first place? Also, can’t believe you came to a vet and not a doctor.”

“It’s cheaper to come here than go there.” Said Lance. “Also, Pidge is surprisingly nice to me when it comes to medical stuff.”

“Of course she is. She’s a professional.” Said Matt as he snapped off his gloves and tossed them into the bin. “Why did you think you had mange anyway?”

Lance shrugged as he put his shirt back on. “Keefy found his way to my house last night and he bit me. Then I woke up today feeling all weird and itchy and stuff. I was kind of worried that I got something from him. He seems to be an outdoor dog.”

“Fair enough… Can I see the bite mark?” Lance peeled the bandaid off his hand and showed Matt the tiny bite mark. It was a little pink but it wasn’t painful, weeping puss, or anything like that. Matt frowned a little and brought out the antiseptic ointment and redressed it for him. “Okay, that’s the best we can do for you. If anything else weird happens I strongly suggest you go to a people doctor. Not an animal doctor.”

“But the free health advice!” Whined Lance.

Matt rolled his eyes and lightly shoved Lance out into the waiting room. “Next time you’re getting a flea and tick bath too.”

“Free?”

“No more freebees.” Said Matt. “You should buy some organic dog treats. It’s pure rabbit.” He went behind the counter and shook a bag of dog treats. “$5. I’m sure little Keefy will like them.”

Lance looked at the treats and happily paid for them. He was always happy to help out the Holt’s clinic when he could. He was sure Keefy would like a few since he lived out with the bush people. They probably fed him rabbits all the time. 

Admittedly Lance hadn’t eaten rabbits before but Pidge did say she ate those dog treats every once in a while since it was technically just normal food anyway. He shrugged and ate one. It was nice. Chewy, but not overly dry. Gamey, but not overpoweringly so.

So Lance ate another one. And then another one. And another one. And another one. By the time he had gotten home Lance had eaten it all, and he was still hungry. He didn’t know if he should be concerned or embarrassed. He still had some time before he had to head to work so he went back inside and started looking in his freezer for something to leave out for dinner. Lamb. 

After he did that he grabbed some ham out of the fridge and ate a slice as he started to see he had any bread or bread rolls. When he eventually found some bread he found that he no longer had any ham.

“Wha-?” Lance almost choked. He punched himself in the chest a few times and coughed up a piece on chewed up ham. “... What?” It seemed like he had just eaten all his ham. “... Alright?”

Lance was very confused and rubbed his fingers over his mouth. His lips started to tingle and he started to feel a craving for salt. He licked his lips and looked through the cupboard and found some pretzels. Crunchy and salty. Salty. Salty. Salty.

***

Keith was nervously pacing around Shiro’s backyard as he watched the older man teaching a corgi to roll over. It managed to get onto its back before it just stopped. “You’re going to wear a hole in my lawn.” He warned Keith.

The werewolf just rolled his eyes and walked faster. “Well excuse me for being concerned. You know how dangerous a first run can be for any new werewolf. They just go into this uncontrollable, beast-like rage and rip into anything! My pack went and caught a deer when I was showing signs of turning so I would eat that and not try to attack everyone else!” 

Shiro sighed and shook his head as he attempted to make the corgi roll over, but the dog seemed to be more interested in digging up the snow. “Look, no offence Keith but you’re kind of…”

“I’m what?” Snapped Keith. “What am I?”

“... You’re not exactly a full werewolf.” Said Shiro. “You’re… You are, but you’re not… You’re a whole different breed. You’re different. We don’t even know if you’re like other werewolves and can infect other people. It’s not like we can test it or anything.”

“I know, but still I…” Keith sighed loudly. “If Lance is infected this will end really badly. He could hurt someone. Could kill them. Hell, even I flew into a bloodlust when I first transformed! Something that would only be quenched with the blood of a fresh kill!”

“So what’s the plan then?” Asked Shiro as he picked up the corgi. “Are you going to drag a dead deer to Lance’s place and wait for him to transform? If he doesn’t transform he’s going to have a dead deer in his backyard.”

“... My mum is helping with that.”

Shiro seemed surprised. “Krolia is back? And she knows about this? And she’s not telling Kolivan?”

“It’s like you said, we don’t know if I can turn people.” Grumbled Keith. “If I can’t then Kolivan’s still going to get mad at me no matter the outcome…”

“Do you want me to come over to Lance’s place tonight?” Asked Shiro. “I can do it. Be your backup if something goes horribly wrong.”

Keith shook his head. “No. Krolia is going to be there… And no offence but you being there… A hunter… We can tell you’re not a normal human, even if it’s just instinctual. Yeah… It would be bad if he changes and you…”

Shiro nodded in understanding and put the corgi inside. “I get it. Werewolves aren’t very friendly towards us hunters. I think we might have some weird smell or something? I don’t know.”

“Yeah…” Keith sighed. “I just… Should I go and check on him? See if he’s starting to develop any of the symptoms?”

Shiro shrugged as he texted the owner of the corgi that their lesson was over. “Maybe… Probably a good idea… Anything I should look out for if I happen to check on him?”

Keith shrugged. “He’ll be twitchy. Maybe itchy? Like his skin is getting too tight or his muscles are trying to get out of his body… He’ll get meat cravings. He’ll probably start seeking out raw meat… Maybe start drooling? It’s a little different for everyone, but craving anything with high amounts of iron and the twitching is pretty common. It’ll get worse the closer to night it gets or if he smells blood.”

“... You know the cafe is pretty close to a butcher’s right?” Asked Shiro. “You guys have a pretty good sense of smell even in your human forms.”

“Fuck.”

***

Work wasn’t going too well for Lance. The smell of coffee was kind of putting him off, he was still craving salt, and he was still itchy. Even Allura noted that Lance looked a little off when he had come in earlier that day. He had reassured her that he was fine, but she kept a close eye on him.

When there weren’t many people in the shop Lance couldn’t help but sigh. “Hey Allura?”

“Yes Lance?”

“What does it mean when you crave salt? Like, really crave salt?”

Allura thought for a moment. “Um… Electrolyte imbalance, PMS?”

“... I don’t have a uterus.” Grumbled Lance.

She shrugged. “Just running through everything… Maybe you should go and see a doctor?”

“Yeah, probably a good idea…” Muttered Lance. “I kind of feel like shit.”

Allura pouted and started to direct Lance from behind the counter. “Sorry Lance, but you have to go.”

“What? Allura, it’s not even dark yet!” He whined.

“Lance, you handle food and drinks! You can’t be sick with a cold or anything weird!” She exclaimed in an exasperated tone. “Get better and please go see a doctor. I don’t want you getting me or anyone else sick.”

He sighed and reluctantly took off his apron. “Fine. I’ll go home and sleep or something… I’ll go and see a doctor tomorrow.”

“Good… You just take care of yourself.” She smiled softly at her friend. “If anything happens and you need someone to take you to the emergency room just call me and I’ll get you there before you know it.”

“Thanks Allura. I appreciate it.” Lance quickly left and started to head home. It was starting to snow again. As he walked past the shops he passed by the butchers just as someone opened the door to leave. As soon as the slightly warm, wet, metallic smell hit his nose he started to drool. Not just his mouth watering a little, he felt saliva dripping past his lips and running down his chin.

Shocked at his own reaction Lance quickly wiped the drool off his chin with the back of his arm and rushed home. He was acting weird. So weird. He knew it was a terrible idea but maybe he should Google his symptoms? He knew there was a high chance it would come up with something outlandish and weird like he had ovarian cancer or a brain tumor, but he needed to feel like he was doing something.

When he got home he opened up his laptop and typed in the first thing that came to mind; _Salt cravings._

He clicked on one of the first websites that seemed legitimate. There were a few plausible possibilities that it could have been; dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, Addison’s disease, stress, Bartter syndrome, pregnancy or PMS. 

Seeing as how he didn’t have a uterus the last two ones were out. He hadn’t been stressed at all, maybe a little worried about opening the seasonal cafe again or worrying about Keefy getting eaten by a wolf, but it wasn’t like he was super worried. Lance always drank a lot of water because it was good for the skin and just good to drink water in general so he wasn’t dehydrated. He didn’t seem to have the symptoms that would confirm it was an electrolyte imbalance. Lance Googled the symptoms of Addison’s disease and was relieved to find he didn’t have that. Looking up symptoms for Bartter syndrome yielded the same results.

He checked another website about common food cravings and what they mean. Apparently salt is addictive and has the same effect cigarettes or hard drugs on the brain. Fun. Also he could have a lack of potassium, calcium or iron.

He scrolled down a little more and found a thing about meat cravings. Something about protein deficiency or he was craving iron or vitamin B. Maybe that’s what was wrong with him? Maybe he needed more iron in his diet? He wasn’t sure.

He walked into the kitchen and glanced out the window. The sun was quickly starting to dip in the sky now. It was going to be dark soon. He smelt something metallic in his kitchen. He started drooling again as he quickly stalked towards the sink. It was lamb. The leg of lamb he just left in there this morning. It was thawed out now. He could see the blood pooling in the plastic bag and he started drooling again.

“...” Lance quickly grabbed his phone and started looking up foods rich in vitamin B. He quickly found a list of foods and started looking through his cupboards and fridge for something he could snack on while he was cooking to curb these weird cravings he was getting. He ended up pouring himself a cup of milk and eating a handful of almonds. The almonds were salted too so it curbed his salt cravings too.

As he snacked on the almonds he started to heat up a pan to cook his lamb. Smelling the meat gently searing made his stomach twist and turn in ways he didn’t expect it to. It was like he was starving and needed something to eat. He needed to eat. He needed to eat this meat now.

He groaned and quickly took the meat out of the pan after just cooking one side. He couldn’t help himself. Lance grabbed it and put it raw side down on his tongue and quickly started eating it. It was still raw enough to drip blood down his wrists and onto the floor. But he was still hungry. He was hungry. So hungry.

A dull ache started to seep through his bones. His skin felt like it was burning. His gums hurt. Everything hurt. He heard a howl off in the distance and involuntarily let out a small whine. His body wanted him to respond. Let the howler know he was there. Lance was here. He was one of them. One of what? He didn’t know. He became extremely dizzy and slumped forward onto the ground and violently shook as he passed out.

***

After talking with Shiro, Keith went to find Krolia. She had gotten a deer from her meat locker and was hanging around a safe distance in the forest behind Lance’s house. They just sat around and waited for the sun to set and the moon to rise before they would check on him.

When they both started to feel the pain of transforming coming on Krolia quickly hid behind a tree to get undressedShe always grew several inches taller and gained so much muscle mass when she transformed. She didn’t like ripping her clothes apart every single time.

When the moon hit them and they transformed, Krolia let out a howl and Keith followed suit. Krolia walked over to the deer carcass and easily hoisted it over her shoulder with one hand and picked up Keith with the other. 

_“Ready to check on him pup?”_ She asked.

Keith nodded. _“Yep.”_

She walked into Lance’s backyard and put Keith down while she tended to the carcass. It was close enough to the house that Lance might see it, but far enough away so that she could drag it away if he wasn’t a werewolf. Then she and Keith could just eat it and go home.

Keith walked up to the backdoor and gave it a few sniffs. It didn’t really smell like a werewolf in there. Was Lance even home? He had to be. The lights were on inside. He tried really hard to sniff under the door and huffed in annoyance.

_“Hello? Any wolf people in here?”_

_“... elp…”_ Whimpered a voice. It sounded like a wounded animal.

_“Lance?”_

_“... Help me…”_ Whimpered the voice a little louder. 

Keith couldn’t tell if the person was getting their voice back or if they were getting closer. He looked over at Krolia and started barking at her. _“I think he turned! Help me get the door open!”_

Without hesitation Krolia was at the backdoor. She carefully dug her nails into the frame and ripped it off its hinges in one go. Keith was about to dash inside when a giant brown fur ball jumped over him and made a mad dash for the deer carcass. They quickly dug their teeth into the round of the deer and viciously ripped off chunk after chunk.

Keith’s jaw dropped in shock. He didn’t know what he was more surprised by, the fact that Lance looked like he had actually become a werewolf, or the fact that Lance was the biggest dog he had ever seen in his entire life. The only thing bigger was an actual werewolf.

Krolia just chuckled in amusement as she leaned against the side of the cottage. _“Congratulations Keith.”_ She said. _“It’s an Irish wolfhound.”_

_“Holy shit…”_ Muttered Keith. _“Why does he get to be a fucking wolfhound and I’m this thing?!”_

Krolia shrugged. _“Dumb luck? At least he’s domesticated like you. Don’t feel so bad.”_

Keith huffed and looked away from her. _“That’s not the point.”_ He grumbled. _“How long until we can talk to him?”_

_“Let him eat his fill of meat first.”_ Said Krolia. _“We can talk when he’s done. You know it’s a bad idea to interrupt a wolf when they are eating.”_

Keith huffed in annoyance and sat down. He knew he should have been more concerned about Lance being turned into a werewolf and all, but he was pissed at him. How come Lance got to be a big dog while he was a tiny little lap dog?


	10. Wolf care

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bada ba ba ba, werewolf Lance time. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Lance shuddered a little as he licked his lips. His weird meat and salt cravings had finally been quenched. He sighed contently and looked down at what was in front of him. Blood, bones and meat. Lance yelped in shock and jumped backwards. He tripped over his feet and fell backwards onto the snow.

He freaked out and tried to stand back up but he couldn’t move his arms the way they meant to. He looked down at his hands and saw he had paws. His heart was racing. This was just some weird dream, right? Was he having a seizure or something on the floor of his kitchen? Probably.

He heard footsteps coming close to him and he quickly whipped his head around and looked up in horror at the towering monster above him. They had to be at least six feet tall, extremely buff, yellow eyes, drool dripping from its snaggle toothed maw.

Lance felt like he was going to faint again. What would happen if he fainted again? Would he just go into some deeper nightmare? He hoped not. What could be worse than this? Probably a hell of a lot, but still!

The giant wolf monster crouched down close to him and sniffed him. This was how Lance was going to die. Eaten alive by a monster, even if this was real. Was this real? Lance didn’t even know anymore.

_“Are you okay?”_ Growled out the creature in a slightly more femanine tone.

So this monster was a woman? Of course if he was going to get murdered it would be by a monster woman. Why was he like this. _“P-please don’t kill me…”_

The woman chuckled in amusement and turned her head slightly. _“He thinks we’re going to kill him.”_

_“Of course he does…”_ Grumbled an all too familiar voice. _“Fucking townie.”_

Lance turned his head and saw a very familiar black pomeranian. He felt a weird tingling sensation run down his spine and before he knew it he was wagging his tail. _“Keefy! Wait...”_ He turned his head and saw he had a tail. _“I have a tail?!”_

The woman chuckled and took hold of Lance, moving him into a sitting position. _“I think introductions are in order. My name is Krolia Kogane. I believe you already know my son. Keith Kogane.”_

Lance quickly looked between them in shock. This wasn’t real. There was no way this was real. _“I’m dead…”_ He muttered. _“I died on the kitchen floor and this is my brain going crazy before I finally die.”_

Keith rolled his eyes. _“Shut up. You aren’t dead. I accidentally bit you and you became a werewolf.”_

_“I’m a what now?”_

_“A werewolf.”_ Said Krolia. _“You’re the first turned werewolf in these parts in about… Oh, I’d say… Two hundred years? Something like that?”_ She walked back over to Lance’s cottage and tried to put the door back.

While she was doing that Lance just looked down at Keith. The tiny little pomeranian. _“This is real?”_

_“Yep. You’ll know it’s real when you have to fix your fucking door in the morning.”_ Said Keith. Which was true. If this was real then his door was completely destroyed and he would see that in the morning.

Lance whined and lied down. _“This is too much… I can’t even get up when I’ve fallen down…”_ He whined louder and louder. Keith sighed and walked over to him and put his tiny mouth over his neck. Lance froze and awkwardly sat up. _“What are you doing?”_

_“Trying to calm you down.”_ Said Keith like it was obvious. _“Okay, I know it isn’t the same as an actual werewolf or a wolf but I am trying here! Cut me some slack I’m tiny!”_

_“No seriously, what were you doing?”_

Keith shrugged. _“It’s a thing we do to calm each other. In our pack we measure our strength by out bite power. When a member of our pack is freaking out we put our mouths over their neck. Our teeth are so sharp they will slice through your flesh and you’ll bleed to death. You need to calm down, not move, and relax.”_

_“... That sounds needlessly aggressive.”_

_“Well fuck you too.”_

Krolia walked back over to them and scooped up the remains of the carcass and gestured for them to follow her. _“Come. We need to get back to the trees. I can’t be seen by the townies.”_

Keith quickly started to follow Krolia but Lance was struggling to stand back up. The two older werewolves stopped to watch him try and stand. To them he probably looked like a new born baby fawn. Krolia took pity on him, picked Lance up with one arm, and carried him into the woods, just far enough away to be out of sight from any potential humans.

She dropped the carcass and placed Lance down. She sighed a little and ran her fingers through her air. _“Okay, so tonight is a wash. Tomorrow we will have to tell Kolivan that Lance is a werewolf and we will let the council decide what to do.”_

_“Council?”_ Yipped Keith. _“But they only come together for the really important things! What if they decide that Lance can’t be in our pack and they kill him?”_

_“WHAT?!”_ Yelped Lance.

Kroila glared at Keith. _“The council won’t be assembling because of Lance. They will be assembling because of you.”_ She growled, suddenly becoming very serious. _“You turned a townie. You’ve broken so many rules these past few runs and you turned someone against their will! The second biggest taboo in our pack next to eating humans!”_

Keith whimpered. His tail was firmly tucked between his legs as he tried to make himself as small as possible against the ground. He was shaking and looked completely terrified. _“But it was an accident…”_

_“It won’t matter to them!”_ She growled. _“You turned a townie! Keith they could exile you from the pack! They could force you off the mountain! They could kill you!”_ By the time she was done yelling at him she was panting heavily. She growled and picked up the carcass. _“I’m going to dump this away from here… You two stay here. If you run off Keith I will take you to Kolivan’s as soon as I see you and make you tell him all your crimes.”_ She stormed off before Keith could respond. Not that he looked like he was going to anyway. He was shaking and didn’t look like he was going to move any time soon.

Lance didn’t really know what to do now. _“Um… A-are you okay?”_

_“... They’re going to kill me…”_ He whimpered. _“Either deliberately or accidentally they are going to kill me… Fuck, I threw my life away for this? For you? Fuck! This isn’t fair!”_

_“Whoa, Keith! She said they might just kick you off the moun-”_

_“IT’S THE SAME THING!”_ Yelled Keith. _“I don’t know how to live without my pack! They mean everything to me! I’ll die without them!”_ He sniffled a little, hid his face behind his paws and whimpered. _“It… it’s for the best… I’m a shitty werewolf anyway… I’d make a better pet than a wolf… I’m fucking domesticated… I’m the worst…”_

Lance frowned a little and awkwardly shuffled over to him and slid down so he was laying in front of Keith with his arms on either side of him. He clumsily bumped his nose against Keith a few times. _“Hey… If your pack kicks you out you can live with me?”_

_“They’ll kick me off the mountain.”_ Whined Keith. _“I can’t live here anymore…”_

Lance rolled his eyes. _“Kolivan doesn’t own Garrison. You can still live here… I want you to be here.”_

Keith looked up at him with a confused expression. _“But I turned you. I cursed you. Your life will never be the same again because of some stupid mistake I made…”_

Lance shrugged. _“It’s okay. It was an accident. You didn’t mean to do it… Did you bite me because I tickled you?”_

_“Kind of… Since I’m so small I don’t have much space on my stomach and I well… It’s really easy for random people to accidentally molest me…”_ Grumbled Keith. _“I don’t like it…”_

_“Fair enough.”_ He pressed his nose against Keith again. _“So.. Everyone else in your pack looks like your mum?_

_“Yeah.”_

_“Why do you look so different?”_

_“My dad wasn’t a pure werewolf. He wasn’t a werewolf at all."_ Said Keith. _“If a pure werewolf has a child with a human, their offspring is always less vicious and more tame. More… Domesticated…”_ He sighed. _“And if a domesticated werewolf bites a human they can infect them with the werewolf curse, but it’s very unlikely… I shouldn’t have been able to infect you…”_ He whimpered.

_“Hey, don’t cry there Keith-”_

_“I’M NOT CRYING!”_

_“Well, nevertheless, you shouldn’t have to be as scared as you are now… I’ll make sure you’re safe.”_ Lance honestly had no idea what he was doing but he couldn’t stand to see Keith this freaked out and scared. He hated seeing people scared. _“That’s what friends do after all.”_

_“Really?”_

_“Yeah, really.”_ He attempted to nuzzle Keith, but ended up pushing the smaller dog over with a yelp. _“Oh shit! I’m so sorry!”_

_“Like fuck you’re sorry! You’re wagging your tail!”_

Krolia came back while the two were arguing. She looked tired and sat near them. _“Keith?”_

The pomeranian quickly tucked his tail between his legs and looked up at her. _“Yes?”_

_“I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”_ She said. _“I was just… I am scared for you. Your life is hard enough without me scaring you.”_

_“It’s okay…”_ Said Keith. _“I know I messed up…”_

She sighed a little and ran her fingers through her hair. _“Okay, now’s not the time to worry about that. We can worry about it tomorrow. For now, we need to teach Lance how to walk.”_

Lance nodded in agreement. Walking was something that he really needed to get done right. For several hours the two older werewolves tried to teach Lance how to walk like a normal dog. In all honesty it was awful. Lance could kind of walk but he looked constipated and like someone had put dog shoes on his feet. At least he was walking.

Eventually Krolia gently ushered the dogs back into Lance’s house so they could all transform properly in the morning and not freeze out in the cold. Lance awkwardly walked to his room and fumbled into bed, pretty much falling asleep as soon as he hit the mattress.

***

When Lance’s alarm went off the next morning he felt like shit. He groaned, rolled over and bumped into someone. He opened an eye and saw Keith. Naked and sitting on his bed. “...” Lance screeched and almost fell out of his bed. It was then he noticed that he was naked. “WHY ARE YOU IN MY HOUSE?!”

Keith jumped a little in surprise and growled at him. “It was either sleep here or sleep on the couch with my mum and I do not want to see her naked in her human form.”

“What? Oh…” Last night came flooding back to him. “You’re a werewolf… I’m a werewolf… Holy shit…”

“Yeah. So can I borrow some pants? All my stuff is still in the snow and all wet.” Said Keith.

“Right, yeah I…” Lance grabbed hold of a pillow and held it over his crotch. “... Fuck why do you have to be naked? How are you so casual about this?”

“I’ve been transforming since I was thirteen.” Said Keith. “I’m used to waking up in the woods naked.”

“Ah…” Lance awkwardly looked around the room and threw a pillow at Keith. “Cover yourself up.”

Keith rolled his eyes but did as he was told. “Whatever Lance. You don’t have anything that I don’t have.” 

Suddenly Krolia walks into the room she had taken Lance’s towel from the bathroom and wrapped it around herself. “Lance, can I possibly borrow some clothes and your dryer? Keith and I left out clothes out in the snow and they’ll be wet by now.”

Lance went bright red. “Sure…” He tried not to watch as the older woman quickly grabbed some clothes and headed out. Krolia was really pretty. Was it appropriate to say she was pretty? She was Keith’s mum and Keith was right here, and they were both naked. Right they were both naked.

He felt the mattress move as Keith got off the bed and started to look for pants. Lance quietly cursed himself as he dared to glance a peek up at Keith. Lord or lord the thirst was real. He trailed his eyes down Keith’s back going over every single muscular curve and dip. Then he got to Keith’s ass. Damn it was perfect. Perfect, round, plump and… Wait a second… he had a nub right at the end of his spine. It kind of reminded him of a dog that had their tail docked. Small, stumpy, and kind of just there.

“... You have a tail?”

Keith glanced over his shoulder and gave Lance a confused look before he looked down his back at the small nub. “Yeah? All pure werewolves, no matter their form, have this in their human form. I kind of have one since I’m domesticated I don’t have full control over it when I am human. I can’t move it around.” He found some pants and quickly pulled them on before grabbing another pair and throwing them at Lance. “Here.”

“Thanks.” 

“... I’m going to go and see how badly my mum wrecked the door last night.” Keith quickly left the room and Lance quickly pulled his pants on before he fell back onto the bed and sighed.

So he was apparently a werewolf. The bush people were werewolves. Keith was a half werewolf that accidentally infected him. That meant that Keefy was Keith, and Lance took him to the vet. Oh lord Lance took Keith to the vet and Pidge shoved a thermometer up his ass. Keith heard him talking about all that random shit. He was so embarrassed.

When he eventually got the courage Lance ventured out into the rest of his cottage to see that Krolia had draped her and Keith’s wet clothes over some kitchen chairs. The two werewolves were looking at the door and quietly discussing how best to fix it and it they could do it before nightfall.

“When my clothes are try I can go and get some tools.” Said Krolia. “I can get someone to help with this tomorrow.”

“Should we get wood from the shop?” Asked Keith. “Maybe just board it up and deal with it later?”

“You really are lazy, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.”

Lance awkwardly cleared his throat. “I um… I’m going to go and put this in the dryer for you guys.” He quickly grabbed an armful of damp clothes and shoved everything in the dryer. When he came back Krolia was still by the broken door, but Keith was in the kitchen putting a load of lord knows what into a pot. “Hey! What are you doing?!”

Keith didn’t bother looking at him as he started dumping several cans of beans into said pot. “You just transformed for the first time. You need to eat a lot of protein and iron or you’re going to crash… Do you have any eggs?”

“In the fridge… What are you cooking?”

“It doesn’t really have a name.” Said Keith as he started cracking eggs and dumping them in. “If you have to name it I guess it’s just like a protein… iron… strew?”

“... Right.”

“Look, it might not taste the best, but you weren’t eating properly before all this happened so you need to eat as much of this is you can. You shouldn’t be eating anything else but this all day.” Said Keith. He grabbed a spoon and started mixing it. “Just be thankful I’m cooking. My mum… She burns water.” He grabbed a handful of spinach and threw that in too. When he deemed it ready Keith scooped it out into bowls for himself, Krolia and Lance. He shoved the bowl into his hands. “Eat it.”

The stew thing looked kind of grey and muddy with chunks of different meats floating in it with beans and a random assortment of vegetables. There was a thick layer of fat and oil floating on top of it too, which Lance found pretty disgusting.

The werewolves didn’t seem to care and quickly at the food as fast as they could. Lance went and got a spoon. He kind of just pushed it around and wondered if it really was safe to eat.

“You need to eat.” Said Krolia. “If you don’t eat then you will faint tonight and you will go meat crazy again.”

“Meat crazy?” Questioned Lance.

Krolia nodded and went to get herself another bowl. “That’s what we call it. If you don’t have enough protein and iron in your diet your body craves it when you become a werewolf. You will go after anything that moves that you don’t identify as part of your pack. That was why we brought you a deer. Less of a chance you would attack us if there was already a fresh body for you.”

“Okay…” Lance stirred his spoon around the bowl a few times. “What’s with all the oil?”

“You need fat.” Said Keith like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You burn a lot of calories when you transform. You’ll start burning muscle if you run out of fat… Plus the oil is good for our coats…” He mumbled the last part.

Lance nodded and reluctantly started to eat. It was kind of bland but it didn’t seem like flavour was the goal with this meal. It was about replenishing what the transformation had taken. As soon as he finished how bowl Keith filled it again and gave it back.

“Eat.”

“But I-”

“Trust me. You will need to eat more.”

“...” Lance reluctantly ate more. Once he had finished his fourth bowl, surprisingly without feeling queasy in the slightest, Krolia started telling them about what they needed to do for tonight. They were all going to go to the run. They would talk to Kolivan. They would try to explain the situation and everything was going to go from there.

Apparently she thought the best approach would be to come forward and just admit what happened and just submit to whatever punishment Kolivan gave Keith, since he was the one who commited a crime. Keith reluctantly nodded along. He looked physically pained at the thought of being voluntarily submissive to anyone.

While the werewolves were discussing how Keith should submit to Kolivan, Lance snuck off to check the dryer and to call Allura to let her know he wasn’t coming in that day for his shift. She was understanding and told him to take the next few days off. She needed him as healthy as possible to look after the seasonal store in the ski resort. So that was good.

When he came back the werewolves decided it was best to try and teach Lance about their pack’s dynamics so he didn’t do something to offend anyone.

“As you might have guessed Kolivan is our leader.” Said Krolia. “Or Alpha, as some might say.”

“You guys have alpha, beta, omega dynamics?” Asked Lance. “Oh boy…”

“What? No. That’s dumb.” Said Krolia. “While we do have aggressive members in our pack we usually kick out or shun the most aggressive. Similar to human society. We are a communal species. We must work together to survive… Plus true alphas in the wild hardly ever breed with anyone. They are lucky to get one mate.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Anyway, we don’t really use those terms in our pack. But Kolivan is our leader, Antok is our second in command. When Kolivan isn’t around we go to him.”

“Other important members are Ulaz, Thace, Regris, Ilun, and Verk.” Said Krolia.

“You’ve already met Ulaz and Thace.” Said Keith. “Ulaz has several shacks around the mountain he uses for making different medicines catered towards werewolves. When the snow starts to thaw he’s going to move to the west side of the mountain.”

“Thace is our emergency supply for meat in winter.” Said Krolia. “He breeds chickens for their meat and eggs. One or two of them and your lust for meat will melt away. Regris is only a few years older than Keith, but he is one of our most experienced trackers. He finds and destroys illegal traps around the foot of the mountain as easily as breathing.”

“Ilun talks to the most townies.” Said Keith. “She helped start this community garden thing at the local community center. She’s very nice and is more than happy to listen to the older women there and they love to gossip. Ilun knows pretty much everything about everyone. Most townies will either talk to her or Kolivan.”

“Then there’s Verk…” Muttered Krolia. “He is… Best way to describe him is that he’s our gamekeeper. He makes sure we do not over hunt. He makes sure that poachers will never take our meat from the mountain. He will slash tires and has actively attacked poachers when they try anything funny. He won’t kill them but will scare them.”

Lance nodded along. “Right, so they are like your elders? You Council?”

“Yes.” Said Krolia. “I’m also part of the council. I find out information on other packs near us when I’m off the mountain. It is a good system.”

Lance nodded. “Right… Okay. So be all respectful to everyone and stuff. Got it. One question.”

“Yes?”

“Will transforming hurt like that every time?”

Keith gave Lance a sympathetic look. “Like you wouldn’t believe.”

Lance was not looking forward to this.


	11. Crime and Punishment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels weird having nothing to do for some many days and it almost being New Year... Huh... Oh well. More chapters for you. Enjoy my shitty SVU joke here. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D
> 
> _"In the werewolf Justice system, bite based offenses are considered especially heinous. On Mount Altea the dedicated werewolves that investigate these vicious offences are part of an elite group known as the werewolf council. These are their stories" *BAM BAM* ___

Lance was scared. The moon had risen and the second he had transformed Krolia had slung him over her shoulders and grabbed hold of Keith before they ran off into the woods. He couldn’t help but whimper and whine as he started to pick up smells that he didn’t understand. His terror only increased when he saw all the other werewolves gathering around Kolivan’s house.

The other werewolves looked at them with confusion and then concern. Lance felt so out of place. All these werewolves were huge like Krolia and looked like they could and would rip him apart. How did Keith feel about growing up around them? He was tiny. Lance wasn’t as small as them and he felt extremely intimidated.

When they got to the house two large werewolves were there, one massively larger than the other. Krolia put both Lance and Keith down. He nudged Keith forward and gave him a stern look.

Keith tucked his tail between his legs and looked down at the ground. _“I broke the rules. I… I committed a crime…”_ He said. The other wolves started to mermer among themselves. They were all quickly putting the pieces together seeing as how Lance was there. _“I turned a townie… This is Lance.”_

There was an uproar of angry howls and barks directed towards Keith. Most of it was sounds of anger, but some were calling for Keith’s blood for his crime. Lance didn’t really understand why it was such a huge deal, but then again he had only been a werewolf for a day and he thought he was taking it pretty well

Kolivan glared at Keith and growled before he looked at Lance. Lance froze. He didn’t know what to do. Instantly his body fell into the snow and he rolled onto his back. He had no idea what he was doing but he hoped he wasn’t fucking everything up somehow.

Kolivan growled louder and raised his hand. _“Council meeting. Now.”_

The most intimidating looking werewolves stood up and followed Kolivan around the back of the house. The tallest werewolf growled at the remaining ones. _“Those two do not go anywhere. They do not leave. You do not touch them. They stay here untouched until we come back. Understood?”_ There were a few reluctant murmurs which made them roar. _“IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?!”_ He got a much more affirmative response this time. Satisfied he quickly left them and followed the rest of the council.

When he was gone the other werewolves started to circle them, growling and lightly snapping at them. Clearly angry and wanting to hurt them, but none of them were brave enough to go against the giant werewolf.

Keith sighed a little and kept his head down. _“Kolivan’s so pissed at me… He’s going to kill me.”_

 _“I’m sorry Keith…”_ Said Lance quietly. _“I’ll tell them it was an accident if that helps?”_

_“Probably won’t but thanks for trying.”_

Lance sighed a little and looked around at the other werewolves. None of them were looking at Keith in a friendly manner. Some of them shot Lance sympathetic looks, but Keith was getting nothing but hate. Lance clearly didn’t understand the gravity of this situation.

***

 _“We can’t let this stand.”_ Growled Verk. _“He’s gotten away with too much already in such a short amount of time. The wolves under my watch would never act like this.”_

 _“Verk is right.”_ Said Ulaz calmly. _“We can’t just let this slide Kolivan. You can’t let this slide.”_

Regris sighed. _“Come on, he’s still really young and we didn’t even know if he could turn a townie. This could be a huge mistake. A misunderstanding.”_

 _“He is domesticated.”_ Reminded Ilun. She hummed thoughtfully as she picked some bones out of her teeth. _“Domesticated werewolves can be a little more… They drop a few IQ points when they transform. He should still have some kind of punishment though.”_

Thace huffed. _“What do you propose? Tie him to a tree? The cone of shame? What?”_

 _“We could always banish him.”_ Said Antok. That caused an uproar with some of the council members as they barked and growled. Antok put up his hands and barked back at them. _“Listen! Just listen! Keith isn’t like us. He is domesticated. We all know a domesticated werewolf can fit in with townies much better than a pure one… We are a dying breed. Werewolves like Keith are the future. He has money. He has a social security number. Krolia knows people off the mountain. She can set him up somewhere and he can live a decent life in exile.”_

 _“BULL-FUCKING-SHIT!_ Snapped Krolia. _“The last time Keith was off the mountain was for his high school graduation! He doesn’t know what life is like off the mountain! He can’t function in normal society without someone helping him! We’re his pack! His family! We’re the only family he knows!”_

 _“Would you rather Kolivan kill him?”_ Growled Ulaz. _“You want him to step on Keith or bite his head off right in front of everyone? The pack needs him to be punished. If Kolivan goes soft on him then people will think he’s playing favourites because he is the youngest. Keith has always wanted us to treat him like one of us. We can’t go easy on him._

As the council bickered Kolivan was deep in thought. He had a soft spot for Keith. He had a soft spot for all the younger members of his pack, but they were all adults. He couldn’t go easy on them or be lenient with them. Keith turned a townie without their consent. A townie he hardly knew. Now they had another domesticated werewolf to deal with, and a big one too.

 _“What about this Lance?”_ Asked Kolivan. That question seemed to stop everyone from barking at each other. _“Normally the werewolf that turns someone has to look after the new pack member and help them get used to pack life… This is different. Unpresidented. If we banish or kill Keith for this who is going to look after Lance?”_

Everyone went quiet. None of them seemed to want to deal with Lance, which was understandable. Teaching an adult how to be a werewolf was not an easy task. Children were easy. They were more adaptable. Adults, not so much. It would be difficult for any normal werewolf, let alone a small domesticated werewolf like Keith.

Kolivan sighed a little as he ran his fingers through his hair. _“Okay… Alright… I think I have a suitable punishment for Keith’s crime… I hope you can all agree it is fitting.”_

***

When the Council came back the other werewolves quickly backed away but made excited sounds. Each one of them was out for blood. They were waiting for Kolivan to give the order. Any order. They needed a show of strength from their leader.

 _“SHUT UP!”_ Barked Kolivan. Immediately everyone was quiet. Kolivan glared at them all and flashed his fangs. _“We have reached a decision. Keith has committed a terrible crime. One, that in the old days would be dealt with death.”_ There was a ripple of approved howls from the pack. Kolivan snarled and they shut up. _“However, we have always prided ourselves on our ability to change and adapt with the times. Even if it is rather slow… That being said Keith turned a townie and someone needs to teach him our ways. Therefore Keith going to-”_

 _“NO!”_ Barked some of the werewolves

_“He needs to be punished!”_

_“Kolivan’s going soft on domestics!”_

_“He needs to be punished!”_

_“SHUT UP!”_ Growled Kolivan. _“Which one of you is going to give up your time to live close to town? Which one of you is going to spend your winter runs teaching him how to keep himself safe instead of hunting for food? Keith is a pomeranian! He doesn’t need to hunt as much as we do! Until Lance can be his own functioning werewolf Keith will be his teacher! When Keith is not teaching he’s on mountain patrol! Unless you want to teach the new werewolf you have no right to object to this decision!”_ Everyone was quiet and Kolivan nodded. _“Good. Now, back to our original agenda before things got derailed..."_

***

Keith almost fainted. He was alive. Kolivan had spared him. He lived to yip another day. However, he had to teach Lance how to werewolf since no one else wanted to, and he was on mountain patrol. In Winter. When ski season was about to start. Maybe if he rolled over and begged Kolivan would throw him off the nearest cliff.

He looked over at Lance. The poor guy still seemed so anxious and confused. He didn’t know how to move his legs and his tail was flailing around as he tried to look at all of the other werewolves. They should go.

 _“Come on Lance, let’s go.”_ He got up and nudged Lance’s leg. _“Come on. Move it you gangly fucker.”_

With shaky legs Lance slowly got up and awkwardly followed Keith. A few werewolves watched in amusement. Even laughed when Lance slipped up and almost face planted. When they were far enough away from the pack Lance fell over and sighed.

_“This sucks… Are you okay?”_

Keith shrugged. _“Well Kolivan didn’t decide to kill me or banish me, so that’s a plus… But now I’m stuck with you and I have to do mountain patrol this year…”_

_“Yeah, what’s that?”_

_“We hike around the mountain and tell tourists to get the fuck off our land. It’s cold and awful.”_ Said Keith. _“No one likes it.”_

_“Oh… Sorry I’m causing so much trouble.”_

Keith sighed. _“It’s fine. Not your fault. I’m the idiot that got you into this… Well, now that I’m not going to get killed, I guess I’ll have to teach you how to walk.”_ He jumped up onto a fallen log. _“Okay, watch my legs and try to copy me.”_ He walked along it one way and then walked back. _“Okay?”_

Lance nodded and attempted to copy Keith. Needless to say he ate snow repeatedly. He wasn’t very good at walking. He kind of did more of an awkward gallop. It was kind of sad. After Lance stumbled into a tree he slumped down and sighed. 

_“I’m the worst…”_

_“Walking on four legs is hard.”_ Said Keith. _“I was a mess when I first started. You should have seen me, I couldn’t walk to save my life. You just have to practice.”_

 _“I know…”_ Whined Lance. He tried to stand up again, but one of his back legs slipped in the snow and sent him falling back down.

 _“... Try one leg at a time?”_ Keith lied down on the log and got up one leg at a time. Front leg, front leg, back leg, back leg. _“Of if that doesn’t feel right you can do it like this.”_ Keith lied back down and got up again. Back leg, back leg, front leg, front leg.

Lance watched him and tried to stand back up. He was still extremely wobbly. _“S-so…”_

_“So?”_

_“Does this happen every night? I thought werewolves only changed during a full moon?”_ He slipped slightly but quickly corrected himself. He was trying really hard.

 _“It’s a three night cycle. I don’t know why. It just starts on the full moon and wanes over the coming days.”_ Said Keith. _“This is the third day, so you won’t have to worry about it until next month… Until then eat lots of meat. You will need it.”_

 _“Okay… Um, this is kind of a personal question but like… does your pack not like you?”_ Asked Lance. _“They seemed to really want you killed…”_

 _“It’s the moon.”_ Said Keith. He sat down and looked up at the sky. Snow was slowly starting to fall again and the moon was partially hidden behind the clouds. _“Lunar madness. We get a little more hyper and blood hungry when the moon rises. They don’t hate me, but they got excited at the thought of violence.”_

 _“Oh… That’s rough.”_ Lance took a step forward, slipped and smacked his chin into the ground. He yelped and whimpered.

Keith sighed a little and walked over to him. _“You okay?”_

 _“I bit my tongue…”_ He whined.

Keith rolled his eyes and put his paw on Lance’s nose. _“It’s going to be a long, long night… Let’s try and walk back to my cabin. We have a lot to talk about.”_

***

It took them almost the whole night to get back to Keith’s cabin. When they eventually got there Lance leaned against the door and knocked it open. While he was sprawled out on the ground Keith walked over him and happily trotted inside. Keith made himself comfortable on the couch while Lance just crawled inside and laid flat on a mat.

The sun soon started to rise and pain ran through both their bodies and they changed back. Lance stayed face down on the mat trying to find the will to get up while he heard Keith walking around him. He was nice enough to drop a blanket on him and didn’t leave Lance completely naked on the floor.

When Keith was dressed and had a small fire going, Lance finally peeled himself up and pulled the blanket tightly around himself. It kind of amazed Lance that Keith could just go about his day like it was nothing. He sat on the couch and looked down at Lance.

“So…”

“So?”

“I’m your teacher now.”

“Looks that way.”

“When we can figure out what days you’re free we’ll figure out when we can get together so you aren’t completely inept when it comes to pack life.”

“Wait, so I’m part of your pack now?”

Keith shrugged. “Kolivan has the final say on if you get to be in the pack or not. If you can prove yourself to be useful then you can join us, but since you’re domesticated you can just learn how to control your condition and go back to being a townie. Domestic werewolves can make that choice.”

Lance nodded a little and frowned. “What’s domesticated mean?”

“It means you look like a dog and not a werewolf.” Said Keith. “If a human saw you they might be surprised but they wouldn’t scream and run away in fear. If they saw any one in my pack they would freak out. You can blend into human society with little troubles.”

“Then why don’t you?” Asked Lance. “You’re also domesticated and you’re an adorable pomeranian.”

Keith rolled his eyes and stood up, walking away from Lance. He’d clearly offended him. As if to solidify that Keith threw a pair of sweatpants, some shoes and a jumper at Lance. “When is your next day off?”

“I don’t have to go back to work until Monday.”

“Good. I’ll be over at your house early tomorrow. Put those on and go home.” Said Keith. “I’ll ask around and get someone to come over and fix your door. Okay?”

“O-okay.” Lance could tell he’d worn out his welcome and quickly started getting dressed. When he was dressed he quickly headed to the door. “Oh! Like is there anything I should start eating?”

“Meat.” Said Keith. “Lots and lots of meat. Anything and everything with iron and protein. Bye.” He slammed the door in Lance’s face, leaving him out in the snow.

“... Keith?” He knocked on the door a few times. “I still don’t know how to get back to town from your place...” Lance heard muffled swearing coming from behind the door.


	12. Bambi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The pack gives Lance a nickname, Keith's very sleep deprived and pissed, and Lance is a baby. Yeah. That's this chapter. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

“And done.” Said Regris as he dusted off his hands. He had gone ahead and fixed Lance’s backdoor for him when Krolia had asked him to do it and he pretty much jumped in and did it. It took him most of the morning and well into the afternoon but he did it.

Lance was very grateful. “Thank you so much. Do you want some lunch? I can make you something if you like?”

Regris shook his head. “Nah, I just want your old door. Let me have that and I’ll consider it a fair trade.”

“It’s all yours man. Take it.”

The older werewolf grinned and grabbed the door, carefully balancing it over his head. “Nice. See you around Bambi.”

“... Bambi?”

Regris grinned. “What? Just because I’m a werewolf doesn’t mean I don’t know what Disney movies are.”

“But why Bambi?”

“You move around like Bambi on ice.” Said Regris. “The pack’s calling you Bambi.”

“... Fun.”

Regris chuckled and happily left with the door. Lance just shook his head and went inside. Not only was he a domestic werewolf but he was being called Bambi by everyone. This was humiliating. He sat on his couch and sighed loudly. He didn’t have much to do today. Allura still didn’t expect him back in to work until Monday. Maybe he should nap or get some more groceries? Groceries were probably a good option.

After a quick nap Lance quickly made his way to the grocery store and quickly restocked on all the food that had been thrown into the pot when Keith was cooking food for him. While he was shopping he happened to walk down the supplement aisle and happened to spot a large plastic tub of protein powder. Lots of it were for work outs and stuff but there were a few flavourless ones meant to be added to smoothies or something like that. Lance wasn’t too sure. Protein shakes were more of his big brother’s kind of thing.

But considering his current situation he decided to grab one and figure out if it was a bad idea later. Maybe Keith would be impressed with his initiative and actually tell him he was doing a good job? That would be really nice. He felt a strange tingling sensation running down his back that settled at the base of his spine. The feeling made him jump a little in shock.

“... Okay, weird body things…” He muttered. Lance rounded the corner of the aisle and went to get some cheap meat in bulk when he happened to spot Hunk looking at boxes of cake mixes. He smiled and waved at him. “Hey Hunk!”

Hunk looked up and grinned at him. “Hey Lance. How’s it going?”

Lance shrugged. “Can’t complain. You?”

“I’m good. Just shopping for some personal baking.” He glanced into Lance’s basket and raised an eyebrow. “You planning a barbeque?”

Lance looked down at his cart and chuckled a little. He didn’t like lying to Hunk, but telling him he was now a werewolf or that the bush people were werewolves would probably end with him getting murdered by Kolivan. Lance really didn’t want to die. So it was time to lie.

“Oh nah, I’ve been hanging out with Keith and he pretty much destroyed my groceries.”

Hunk raised an eyebrow. “Oh? You two are hanging out more?”

“A-as friends!” Clarified Lance. “As friends… He’s used to more of that clean eating stuff you know? So pretty much all my meat and vegetables are gone. Kind of annoying, but hey, he ate it all and he’s said he’d cook for me next time to pay me back. So it’s not all bad.”

“That’s good.” Said Hunk. He looked back at the boxes in his hands. “... Chocolate or pound cake?”

“Pound cake.”

Hunk nodded and put the chocolate cake mix back. “Pound cake… So, you want a ride home or something?”

“That would be amazing. Thanks man.” They two of them checked out separately and then they got into Hunk’s car and headed back to Lance’s place. They talked about stuff that was happening at Hunk’s family bakery and how things were going to get crazy again at the end of the week when the tourists would start showing up.

It was nice to talk to Hunk about these things, but by the end of the car ride he started yawning. He was still tired from pretty much staying up two nights in a row. He needed another nap. “You okay there buddy?” Asked Hunk.

Lance shrugged. “Little tired. Been up all night with Keith.”

“Oh?”

“Drinking!” Said Lance quickly. “Those bush people make one hell of a drink. Pretty sure it ripped all the enamel out of my teeth.”

Hunk frowned a little and shook his head. “You need to go straight to bed. Don’t forget to tell Allura you can’t come in today.”

“Oh, it’s fine.” Said Lance. “I was sick the other day and Allura said she needs me in tip top shape for the tourists. I’m pretty much okay now.”

“Oh, okay.” He shook his head and sighed. “Lance, buddy, you need to relax and lay off the moonshine. Okay?”

“Don’t worry about it. Not planning to. I’m planning on putting all this away and then sleeping the rest of the day.”

“Good job.” Hunk smiled and patted his back. “Alright. If you’re still feeling sick just give me a call. I’ll come by and cook for you if you want?”

“Thanks buddy. Catch you later.” Lance grabbed his groceries and happily went into his home. He put his food away and was about to go and flop onto his bed to nap when he heard a knock at the door. He sighed loudly and went to see what fresh hell was going to happen now. Much to his surprise it was Shiro. “Oh! Hey man, what’s up?”

Shiro smiled and shrugged. “Well, I kind of heard from a few people that you were with Keith last night?”

“... Maybe?”

He nodded. “Yeah, though I think they called you Bambi?”

Lance sighed heavily and shook his head. “So you’re a werewolf too? I can’t believe you’re all calling me Bambi… Well come on in.” He gestured for Shiro to come in and the two of them went inside. 

Shiro looked around the place and smiled softly. “Your house is nice.”

“Thanks… You know, you should have told me you were part of their pack. It would have been cool to see you there.”

“Oh, I’m not welcome to go on runs anyway.” Said Shiro.

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not a werewolf.” Said Shiro calmly. “I’m a werewolf hunter.” A chill suddenly ran up Lance’s spine and he looked at Shiro with intense fear. Noticing his sudden panic, Shiro quickly tried to reassure him. “Whoa, calm down Lance. I’m not here to hunt you down or anything. I literally just like here as more of a safeguard in case something happens to the pack during one of their runs and they need a human to help them out.”

“O-okay?”

“I just thought you should know since you’re now one of them. If you’re in trouble and you see me you can always come to me for help. Like, if you’re not going to make it back to your house you can just pass out in my backyard and I’ll let you in when you knock.”

“... Okay. Are you really okay with the werewolves here?”

Shiro nodded. “Yeah. Kolivan’s pack isn’t bad. They have some strict rules to keep themselves and the townies safe.”

“Ah, okay… S-so um… Am I in trouble?”

“What? No. You’re not in trouble. I’m just trying to help you out.” He sounded sincere and like he was actually concerned about him. “I’m just letting you know if you need anything you can count on me. I know it can be difficult being a domestic werewolf in a pack full of pure werewolves. Keith had a very difficult time when he was younger…”

“I can imagine. He’s a pomeranian… and I’m a wolfhound.”

Shiro looked stunned for a moment before he started laughing. “Are you serious? That was probably a massive blow to Keith’s ego. He probably thought you’d end up being around the same size as him. Maybe a chihuahua or a yorkie?” 

Lance shrugged. “I guess? Maybe… I don’t know. I have no idea… You think he’ll feel better when he finds out his pack is calling me Bambi?”

“He probably already knows.”

“Fuck.”

***

Early the next day Lance woke up to someone knocking on his door. With an annoyed groan, Lance threw on his extra fluffy robe and blue lion slippers. He opened the door and Keith was standing there. He honestly looked like shit. His hair was sticking up everywhere, he had bags under his eyes, and it looked like he rolled down a hill.

“... Um… Good morning?”

“Fuck you.” Growled Keith. “Put your clothes on and follow me.”

“... Dude, it’s like 5am. The sun isn’t even up yet.”

“Did I fucking stutter?” Growled Keith. “Get dressed. Now.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Fucking hell, fine!” He walked back inside and Keith stomped in after him. “What the fuck’s stuffed up your ass? Another thermometer?”

Keith narrowed his eyes at him and growled. “Just hurry the fuck up Bambi.”

“... Fuck you.” Hissed Lance. He quickly got changed into warm clothes and walked out. Keith still looked pissed. “What now pompom?”

Keith glared at him. “What did you call me?”

“Bitch you called me Bambi!”

“Fuck off! I’m your elder in this situation! Argh! Whatever! Let’s go already!”

“Fuck you pompom! I’m not going anywhere until I get my coffee!”

“Fucking townies and their coffee!” Growled Keith as he stormed into the lounge room. 

Lance just ignored him and made two cups of coffee. One for him and one for Keith. Should he have made one for Keith when he was acting like a piece of shit? Probably not. But Keith looked like shit so he probably had a really shitty night. He handed the cup to Keith, who quickly turned his nose up at it.

“Okay, listen here pompom, you look like shit.” Snapped Lance. “You have a really shitty attitude. Drink the fucking bean juice and feel better damn it. You clearly aren’t a morning person.”

Keith rolled his eyes and took the coffee cup. He quickly started drinking it while glaring at Lance. “I never went to sleep. I was on mountain patrol all night.”

“... Shit man. No wonder you look like death.”

Keith flipped him off and finished the drink. When he was done he quickly got up and walked towards the door. “Whatever Bambi. Let’s just go. The sooner we get this done the sooner I can go home and sleep.”

“... Dude, you can just sleep here?”

“No. Werewolf stuff first. Sleep later.”

Lance sighed heavily and followed the rather grumpy pomeranian werewolf. He hoped that Keith would get over everything and act normal again… Then again, maybe this was just Keith being normal? Was he always so pissed? Was he going to be pissed off at him all the time now? Maybe he shouldn’t have called Keith pompom. Now Lance felt bad and kind of scared. He didn’t want Keith to start yelling at him.

***

Yeah, Keith was pissed. An hour after Lance had gone home Kolivan showed up and dragged him up the mountain to start patrolling. So Keith had been up in freezing temps all day and most of the night. He was about to go home when Kolivan informed him that he needed to teach Lance some of the basics of being a werewolf today.

So Keith was cold, tired and dirty, but he still wasn’t allowed to do anything until he’d taught Lance some werewolf stuff. But what the hell was he meant to teach Lance? Lance was some dumb ass townie that was probably one of the nicest people he had ever met.

He heard a yelp and quickly looked over his shoulder to see that Lance had slipped on an icy patch and had fallen on his ass. Keith rolled his eyes. “Bambi.”

Lance sighed dramatically and quickly got back up. “I’m not Bambi.”

“Totally Bambi.” He sighed a little. “Do I need to teach you how to walk like a human too?”

“Pompom.”

Keith glared at him. Fuck it he was going to bullshit his way out of this. If he played his cards right he’d get Kolivan off his back and he’d be able to take a powernap. “Okay fine. We’ll do it this way…”

He led Lance up a hill to a ledge overhanging a cliff. He swept some of the snow away with his hand and patted the spot next to him. Lance seemed to hesitate and sat by him. He seemed a little nervous about being so close to the edge.

“Okay, first lesson.” Said Keith. “You have to familiarise yourself with the sounds and smells of the woods. Close your eyes. Keep your mouth shut. Just listen.”

“Like mediation?”

“Like meditation.”

“Oh, okay” Muttered Lance as he made himself comfortable on the ground. He closed his eyes and slowly started breathing, like he was trying to meditate. Keith closed his eyes and promptly lied back in the snow. Looks like his plan worked like a charm. Lance was as thick as two bricks. If he thought this was an actual lesson and not an excuse for him to catch up on sleep.

***

Lance was doing as he was told. He sat there and took it all in; the cold, the damp, the rustling of leaves, the foot fall of random animals coming close and then running away, and then there was the sound of Keith. The bastard was snoring. He’d fallen asleep.

Lance sighed a little and looked down at him. Keith had passed the fuck out. He’d curled up slightly on his side. He actually looked like one of those pictures you’d find of a dog sleeping in a weird position. Hell he even had his mouth out and his tongue hanging out. It was stupid and kind of dumb. Lance had half a mind to dump a pile of snow on his face and run away, but he would get lots and freeze to death.

He sighed and rubbed his arms with his hands to try and generate some warmth. He felt pretty bad for Keith. He was really tired. He lightly tapped his foot against Keith’s leg. The werewolf grunted slightly but otherwise stayed still.

“Keith? Can we go back to your cabin please? You need to sleep… And I’m cold...”

Keith grunted again and rolled over away from him. Lance sighed sadly and looked out at the forest in front of him.The view was pretty but he felt bad. Keith was tired and angry at him. Because of him, he had to do weird mountain run things at night and it was obvious he didn’t want to do this. He felt really bad and wanted to cry. He involuntarily let out a few small whimpers.

Seconds later Keith bolted upright and he quickly looked around in a mild panic. Which in turn made Lance panic. “What? What happened? What’s going on?” Asked Lance.

“Puppy?” Questioned Keith. “Where’s the puppy? Didn’t you just hear it?”

“... Huh?”

“The whimpering.” Said Keith. “You know.” He mimicked the whimpering sound Lance had made. “There’s a puppy in distress around here… Why is there a puppy out here?”

“Oh…” Lance could feel his face burning. “That was me…”

It took Keith a moment to register what he was saying, but when he did he almost looked horrified. “Are you fucking kidding me? Christ are you really that freaked out?”

“Huh?”

“Fucking hell! Fine, we’re going back to my cabin.” He quickly got up and started to drag Lance back to his place.

Lance was super confused but let Keith drag him along. “Keith? What the fuck?”

“Okay, new lesson, I’m teaching basic wolf communication. All that puppy whimpering you're doing right now is going to make everyone in the pack think you’re some abandoned pup that’s been left out in the cold to die.”

“You say that like that literally wasn’t what you were just doing.”

“... First of all I was next to you the whole time Bambi.”

“Quit calling me Bambi!”

“I’ll stop calling you Bambi when you can walk normally on four legs!”

“Fuck you Pompom!”

“Go lick your balls Bambi! … While you still have them.”

“Excuse me?!”

“You heard me. Bambi.” They bickered the whole way back to Keith’s cabin, but as soon as they got there Keith went to his bedroom to put his jacket away and fell asleep. Lance just shook his head and decided to take a nap on his couch. Keith was a dumbass.


	13. Sleepy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith needs to take a nap real bad. And Lance is trying really hard to be a good boy and learn the werewolf things. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

For the next few days Keith kept coming over to his house and taught him some basic communication skills. He’d teach him for about ten minutes and then sleep for a few hours. Kolivan was really running Keith into the ground. Lance wasn’t happy about this, but Keith said it was better than getting kicked off the mountain or killed.

Lance was okay with it, though it was kind of weird having Keith randomly collapse on the ground and start snoring. He ended up taking a few pictures and comparing them to sleeping dogs. He had pretty much looked the same as a normal dog, just in human form. Kind of cute. He felt his tailbone tingle a little but he had no idea what it meant. He didn’t really get around to asking Keith about what it meant.

He had bigger things to worry about. Lance had to be a good barista and serve coffee to a bunch of tourists. Most were pretty good, but as usual there were a bunch of entitled shit heads. Lance just smiled gave them their coffee and answered some questions if they had them. 

Lance was working with a seasonal worker from one of the towns down about a half hour drive from the city. One that Lance kind of got along with but he was kind of an ass. James Griffin. The ass who had poured water over the cardboard last year just to fuck with Keith.

He had made it clear that if he saw the cardboard even slightly damp, or heard from anyone that the cardboard in the recycling was damp, he’d make sure Allura fired him and blacklisted him from every working up in the resort again. James seemed pretty pissed off, but he kept his mouth shut and didn’t talk to Lance for the whole shift. Which Lance was fine with.

When Lance took his break he used the free wifi there to sit in the back and listen to wolf noises. Some wolf expert that had lived with wolves for a year was talking about how they communicated. It was interesting watching this person howl softly and then they were suddenly getting swarmed by three wolves that started nuzzling the person’s face, neck, and stomach.

It was interesting to see and Lance wanted to practice, but he knew James would look at him like a weirdo. He kind of wanted to practice so Keith would smile and him and maybe not think he was a completely stupid werewolf. Whenever he thought about making Keith happy he felt a weird tingling in his tailbone. It felt weird.

He got bopped on the back of the head with an empty cup and he looked up to see James. Perhaps he was actually going to talk to him now? “Yes?”

“Your break’s over… And one of the weird bush people’s talking to some guy in a suit… They haven’t ordered anything yet, but you know.”

Lance nodded and went back around the front. Kolivan was talking with Allura’s father, Alfor. Not unusual. Alfor was on friendly terms with Alfor. It was no secret that Kolivan was very interested in preserving his property and making sure that the resort wouldn’t mess with the nature. It made more sense now that Lance knew Kolivan was a werewolf and they needed all that damn space.

Kolivan glanced over at Lance and gestured to Alfor. The man nodded and the two of them walked to the counter. Lance smiled brightly at them. “Afternoon gentlemen. What can I get you two today?”

“Afternoon Lance.” Said Alfor. “Two coffees thanks.”

“Two coffee’s coming right up.” He smiled up at Kolivan and gave him a polite nod. “Nice to see you again Kolivan.”

“Hello Lance. How are you?”

“I’m good.”

“Is Keith teaching you well?”

“As well as he can.”

Alfor raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t realise you two knew each other. Who is Keith?”

“One of the people in my group.” Said Kolivan. “He’s about Lance’s age. They have started to get along and Keith’s teaching Lance some basic survival skills. Isn’t that right Lance?”

Lance nodded and started making their drinks. “Yep. He’s been teaching me about some of the animal noises and stuff out there. Been mostly teaching me the wild animal noises so I can keep myself safe in case I get lost. Mostly wolf stuff at the moment.”

Alfor grinned. “Well that’s good. Always a good thing to learn new skills.”

“Yep.” Lance handed their drinks over and took their money. “Have a good day.”

Kolivan nodded and sipped his drink. “We will… And Lance?”

“Y-yeah?”

“Glad things are working out with you and Keith. Good job.” 

The two older men left and Lance was just shocked. Kolivan praised him. He actually praised him. He felt a weird tingle in the base of his spine again. He grinned. Kolivan was happy with him. He did a good thing. Maybe Keith would think he’s done a good thing too?

“Hey! Earth to Lance?” Snapped James. “You gonna just keep zoning out there, manager?” He asked in an almost condescending way. Asshole. 

“What? I’m just surprised Kolivan’s talking to me. He’s a pretty big deal here on the mountain.”

James rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know. But damn, I didn’t know you were hanging around a flea bag like Keith Kogane.”

“You shut your mouth James.”

“Well he is.” Said James as he restocked the drink lids. “In high school he came into class and had fleas. He literally had fleas! How the fuck does anyone even get fleas? He was acting like it was no big deal but he got sent home. He’s really fucking weird.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “So what? You have no idea what happened. He lives out in the woods. It’s about as bad as getting lice.”

James rolled his eyes right back at him. “Right, so what flea-like creature lived on rats and spread the plague? Oh right, fleas. So excuse me for not wanting to die of whatever nasty disease that guy is carrying.”

Lance felt hip lip twitch, and he resisted the urge to growl at him. “Hey James? Go into the store room and do a stock take.”

“The fuck? We’ve just opened today and-”

“Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t realise Allura promoted you from seasonal worker to manager.” Growled Lance. “If you don’t want to get written up you can get started. Go on. Go.” James glared at him but went into the back to do what he was told. Lance sighed a little and crossed his arms. So what if Keith had fleas in high school? He was a werewolf of fuck’s sake. He probably went on a run for the night before and had to dash to school before he realised what had happened.

***

Keith was not in the mood for any of this shit today. He was walking around the summit, functioning on only a mug of extremely weak tea and a squirrel he managed to find… So he didn’t feel like getting into a fist fight with a wolf that decided he was food. Not one of his pack, an actual fucking wolf.

It didn’t really seem to know what to make of him. Most animals didn’t. They always seemed confused and cautious around werewolves. Maybe they just didn’t look like what they smelled like? He didn’t know. Either way this large wolf was circling around him and lightly growling. More in caution than anything else.

Keith bared his teeth at them and growled. “Don’t fuck with me right now. I might look human, but I will pin you down and bite your balls off.”

The wolf growled at him some more and defensive stance. It probably didn’t know what he said, but it was definitely said in a way that was threatening. The wolf growled louder, letting its spit fly.

“... Fuck it. I’m done.” Keith launched himself at the wolf, catching it off guard. He managed to knock it over and started to viciously bite it’s legs, chest, and neck.

The wolf howled, kicked, and scratched in self defense. Keith was fine with that. As long as he didn’t get any part of his body in the canine’s mouth he would be okay. Somehow the wolf managed to bite his shoe and tried to pull it, along with Keith’s leg off his body. Knowing it was either him or the wolf, Keith grabbed its back leg and started punching it in the crotch. His previous statement about biting its balls off was more of a bluff than anything. He didn’t know if the wolf was male or female. But like most animals it didn’t like getting punched in the reproductive parts.

The wolf eventually pushed itself away from Keith, barked at him and awkwardly waddled away. Keith had won this fight. This time. Now he had a mouthful of wolf fur and blood. Gross. He washed his mouth out with some snow he melted in his mouth and spat it out. Fucking wolves. Assholes.

Keith started the long walk back down the mountain. There was a care box bolted into the side of a bolder a few feet away. He could grab something from there. Hopefully whatever food was in there wasn’t too frozen.

Waiting for him by the box was Antok. He nodded at him and Keith nodded back. “Antok.”

“Keith. You okay? You look a little scraped up there.”

“Got into a fist fight with a wolf.”

“Did you win?”

“We’re both still alive so I’d call it a draw.”

Antok nodded and took out a small bag of mixed nuts from the care box and tossed it at Keith. Keith grabbed it and quickly downed the food. He was still hungry. He sighed and leaned against the rock next to Antok. 

The older man hummed a little and looked at him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah… I’m just tired. I think I’ve only got about ten hours of sleep this week.”

“I see…” Antok put his hand on Keith’s head and gently ruffled his hair. It felt nice and Keith found himself leaning into his hand. “After this week Kolivan is going to ease off on your mountain patrols. He just wanted to make the point stick.”

Keith nodded sleepily. “Yeah. I get it. No more breaking rules…”

“Good… Is Lance doing okay?”

“I’m teaching him basic communication.” Said Keith. “He keeps whimpering like a pup.”

Antok seemed surprised for a moment before he laughed. “That’s actually pretty cute. He’s such a big werewolf too. Are you going to meet with him tonight?”

“Yeah. I’m going to see if I can grab some cardboard out of the recycling bin out the back.”

He nodded. “I see. Need some help getting down to the resort? I have an extra pair of snowshoes.” Antok took off his backpack and handed over a pair of homemade wicker snowshoes to Keith. “Get your cardboard, go home, and sleep. I’ll let Kolivan know you’re having a full night of sleep.”

Keith gladly took them and put them on. “Thanks Antok. I really need to sleep… Do I still have to be Lance’s teacher?”

“Yes.”

“Damn it.”

“Be nice to Bambi. He’s only here because of what you did.”

“I know…” Keith sighed and started to walk down to the resort.

***

The sun had set and the cafe had closed down for the night. Lance had called Allura when they had locked up to let her know the cafe didn’t get destroyed. She was thrilled that things went well and trusted Lance to lock up for the night. He and James were cleaning tables and taking out the trash.

Lance grabbed the recycling and went to throw it out, though he had to do a double take when he saw a pair of legs sticking out of the recycling dumpster. “Sir?” He walked over to them and noticed they were wearing some homemade snowshoes. He also heard a familiar snoring sound. “Keith?”

He didn’t get a response, so Lance kicked the side of the bin. Keith yelped, fell into the bin and popped his head out. He looked shocked to have been woken up. “The fuck did you do that for?”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Dude, you were half hanging out of the recycling bin. What the hell?”

“... I was getting cardboard.” He grumbled and yawned. “Fuck… I need a nap…”

“Hey Lance, what’s taking so long?” Asked James as he walked out. “Oh, it’s you. Flea bag.”

Keith gave James a confused look. “I’m sorry? But who are you?”

“Fuck you Kogane.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “You can head off now James. I’ll lock up.”

The man rolled his eyes and stormed back inside. “Fine by me.”

When he was gone Lance sighed. “Wow… just wow… Do you really not remember him?”

“Nah, I remember him. But fuck that guy. He doesn’t deserve me wasting any time remembering him.” He ducked back down and came up with a bundle of cardboard tied up with twine. “Anyway, can I have this? I need some more kindling and James hasn’t thrown water on it yet.” 

“Of course man. Take it. It’s all yours.”

“Thanks.” Keith jumped out of the bin and happily carried his bundle. “... Well, I guess I should head on home now. I mainly wanted to come down here to get cardboard.” He yawned again and tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

“... If you wait for like five minutes I’ll drive you home.” 

“You don’t have to.”

“But I want to.”

“... Fine.” Keith yawned again and leaned against the wall. “Hurry up.”

Lance nodded and quickly locked everything up for the evening before heading back out to Keith. He looked like he was going to drift off to sleep at any second now. Lance was amazed they managed to trudge back to the car with little trouble. On the drive back to Keith’s place, Keith fell asleep. So instead of forcing Keith to walk back home to his place he decided to just drive home and let Keith crash there with him. He doubted Keith would complain. He was too sleepy.

Thankfully Keith didn’t seem to complain when Lance gently ushered him into his house. Keith quickly passed out on the couch. Lance let him sleep as he went and cooked them both something to eat. Keith could eat it when he finally woke up.

When that was done Lance went and had a quick shower. He should probably offer one to Keith when he wakes up. He’d probably really appreciate it. Lance knew he would. So after he got out and put on some comfy clothes he went to check on Keith.

He was still passed out on the couch. He’s somehow twisted his body around so that one leg was hooked over the back of the couch while his other leg was dangling limply off the couch. He’d also twisted his torso slightly so one was twisted slightly and hanging over the couch. The over was randomly thrown across his body. Also his neck was bent over the armrest of the couch in a way that looked like his neck was broken. It was ridiculous. Lance took many photos. 

When he was done taking photos he sat on the chair closest to Keith’s head. For some reason Lance could kind of smell him? It was weird. It wasn’t like Keith had a bad smell or anything. He smelt earthy and kind of nice? Did Keith always smell like this? Was this a werewolf thing? He didn’t know. He leaned a little closer to Keith and tried to smell him better. 

But as soon as he realised what he was doing he sat back in his chair and blushed. That was weird and creepy. He wanted to ask Keith about it but the poor guy was in no position to answer any questions. He needed sleep. Also, if this wasn’t a werewolf thing Keith might get mad at him.

Lance sighed heavily. All this werewolf stuff was hard. He wished that it was easier. Maybe someday he’d fit in with Keith’s pack? He was trying really hard to learn how to werewolf. He wanted to show Keith he had been learning about wolf sounds. Keith would be able to tell him if he was doing okay. Though he would probably laugh at him.


	14. Why we howl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is full of feels. Some more gut punchy than the others. But it's still full of feels. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

After Kolivan eased off of Keith’s night patrols the werewolf’s mood seemed to improve a lot. He was a lot less snippy and he seemed to relax a bit more. It was amazing what a good amount of sleep could do for a person. Once he was back to normal, he and Lance made a loose plan for what they needed to do for Keith to teach him how to be a werewolf.

So every other day Keith waited out the back of the cafe at the resort and the two of them would head back to Lance’s place so they could do wolf stuff. They also figured out how to work things out so that Lance didn’t have to do the late shift during one of their runs.

With that sorted out Lance and Keith were doing pretty well when they started to actually started to do proper werewolf training. Lance was more than eager to show Keith some of the wolf noises he had been teaching himself. However Keith just looked confused and asked him if he was sick.

Eventually though the next full moon came around and the start of a new run. Lance was able to make it over to Keith’s place before the moon started to rise. Lance still wasn’t very good at walking on four legs, but they did eventually get to Kolivan’s place. Just as the meeting was over. 

Keith had quickly moved behind a tree to avoid getting run over by a werewolf barreling past them. Lance didn’t move in time and ended up getting run over by a werewolf. In his shock, Lance let out a yelp and within seconds he was swarmed with concerned werewolves.

 _“Are you okay Bambi?”_ Asked one of the werewolves.

_“Is it you paw? Did someone step on your paw?”_

_“Do you need help?”_

_“Can you walk?”_

_“Would you like someone to help you up?”_

Lance’s eyes went wide and he quickly looked around trying to find Keith because he didn’t know what to do. _“Um… I um… I…”_

_“Did you twist your paw?”_

_“Alright, back the fuck off!”_ Snapped Keith as he weaved between the legs of the larger werewolves. He stood in front of Lance and puffed himself up as much as a small dog could and started barking at them. _“Watch where you’re fucking going! He’s still learning to walk! Fuck you!”_

Some of the werewolves growled and barked back at Keith. But Keith was living up to the stereotypes that tiny dogs are loud and aggressive assholes. He looked like he was about to have a throw down with some of them.

 _“Watch it tiny!”_ Growled one of the wolves. _“You were this close to getting eaten last run.”_

_“Go chase a car!”_

Lance instinctively made himself as small as possible, a feat for such a huge dog, shuffled away and whimpered louder. His whimpering made everyone stop again and instantly become worried.

 _“Okay, what’s going on here?”_ Growled Ulaz as he walked over. _“Why are you all still here? Who is crying?”_ The second he spotted Lance and Keith his expression softened a little. _“I see… Everyone, move it. Get out of here.”_ The werewolves quickly dispersed and Ulaz crouched down in the snow by them. _“Are you okay Lance?”_

 _“... I’m fine… A werewolf ran into me…”_ He muttered quietly. Lance slowly got up and took a few wonky steps. He wasn’t walking very well, but it was better than last time. He was kind of doing it.

Ulaz nodded. _“Okay. You keep that up.”_ They looked down at Keith and nodded at them. _“You’re doing a good job.”_

Keith wagged his tail slightly. _“Yeah? Thanks. So did we miss anything important?”_

_“Not really. Just the usual stuff. What are you two going to do tonight?”_

_“Nothing crazy. We’re going to go down to the area around Thace’s place to walk on the flat lands near the river. It’ll be easier for Lance to move.”_

Ulaz nodded. _“Good. Have a good run you two.”_

When the wolder werewolf was gone Lance sighed heavily and looked down at Keith. _“Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to make them all freak out like that… But thanks for sticking up for me. I really appreciate it.”_

Keith shrugged. _“It’s fine. They were smothering you. Werewolves tend to smother their cubs and stuff.”_

 _“... Okay.”_ Lance still felt bed. He slowly followed Keith back down to the river near Thace’s place. Lance could smell the chickens before he could hear the water. 

When they got there Keith was putting him through his paces and did everything he could to try and get Lance to walk like a normal dog. Slowly but surely he was getting better at it. When he started to look less stupid Lance started wagging his tail. Keith was happy with Lance’s progress so he let them have a quick rest.

Lance flopped to his side and let his tongue roll out of his mouth. _“Aaaaaaaa, my legs hurt…”_

 _“You get used to it eventually.”_ He sat by Lance and started scratching himself before he stretched and lied down next to Lance. _“So… After learning how to walk I was thinking scent markings. Help you tell the difference between a werewolf and a deer.”_

Lance nodded and looked up at the moon. It was a clear night. The stars and the moon shone brightly in the sky. He let out a small howl. Seconds later Keith did the same. Hearing that made Lance wag his tail, which in turn made Keith huff out a laugh.

 _“Fine. Mock me… Why do you guys howl anyway?”_ Asked Lance.

 _“Practically it’s to communicate with each other.”_ Said Keith. _“But you know, we have our own little stories about why we howl.”_

 _“Oh?”_ Now Lance was really invested. He loved stories of all kinds. _“Tell me?”_

Keith frowned a little and looked up at Lance. _“You sure? It’s a dumb story.”_

 _“Tell me.”_ He lightly nudge Keith. _“I want to know.”_

 _“... The moon used to come down and walk with us.”_ Said Keith. _“My mum used to say she was a beautiful woman; tall, strong, thick black hair and carried an axe on her hip.”_

_“Really? Your depiction of the moon sounds like a badass lady.”_

_“Well the moon is badass.”_ Said Keith. _“Anyway, the moon came down one day and fell in love with a man. The man also fell in love with her. They got married but the moon made the man promise to let her leave every night so she could walk across the sky because she was the moon. Things were fine at first, but the man grew jealous.”_

_“Of course he did.”_

_“The man locked the moon away in their home and wouldn’t let her leave. While she was captured the moon wouldn’t shine in the sky… Eventually she was able to escape but before she left she vowed to never return to earth no matter what. The man, realising his horrible mistake, searched for her every night… And on the night the moon was at its fullest he let out a mournful cry and he turned into a beast. Cursed to cry out for his lost love and hope she would answer back one day and forgive him.”_

_“... That’s so sad.”_ Said Lance. _“So you guys howl to try and get the moon to respond to you?”_

 _“Something like that.”_ Keith got up and shook the snow off his feet. _“It’s just a story. It isn’t even the only story we have about how werewolves became a thing.”_

_“Really? There’s more?”_

_“Yeah. There are like seven others. Everything from wolf gods fucking humans to straight up beasiality.”_

_“... Ew.”_

Keith shrugged. _“It is what it is.”_ He pushed his paw against Lance’s muzzle. _“Okay, get back up. We’re going to see if you can run.”_

 _“I can hardly walk!”_ Whined Lance as he struggled to get up..

Keith rolled his eyes and lightly nipped at Lance’s ankles. _“Shut up and walk.”_ Lance yelped a little and awkwardly tried to move his legs out of the way while Keith tried to bite him. The little asshole.

***

From the treeline Krolia watched Keith trying to teach Lance how to walk properly. There was improvement, but it was still very awkward. It made her chuckle. _“Oh Keith…”_

 _“Still watching the pups?”_ Asked Kolivan.

Krolia nodded. _“Yeah. I can’t help it. Keith is really taking this seriously. Having another domesticated werewolf in the pack will do them both some good.”_ She still remembered how upset Keith had been when he first transformed and he was a pomeranian. Keith was so distraught he refused to go on any pack runs for the first three months. He just stayed in bed and sulked while his dad tried to reassure him that being a pomeranian was still a fine dog breed.

 _“If they want to be in the pack.”_ Said Kolivan calmly. _“Keith is a domesticated werewolf Krolia. We all assumed he would eventually move away after finding out he was a pomeranian.”_

 _“... Keith doesn’t want to leave.”_ Said Krolia. _“We’re the only family he has left.”_

 _“I know.”_ Kolivan sighed a little and watched the two werewolves run around like idiots in the snow. _“... Do you think Lance will actually join our pack?”_

_“Will you let him if he wants to?”_

_“I’ll consider it.”_ Said Kolivan. _“Though if he decides he wants to stay in the town and have nothing to do with us again I won’t be upset.”_

_“But it’s good to have another young werewolf around. One that Keith can relate to.”_

_“While I do agree Lance wasn’t born into our group. He was turned. He’ll be yearning to return to the life he knew. It’s only natural. It’s in his human nature.”_

_“... I know, but they seem happy… Keith hasn’t been out during runs as much as he has since Lance got turned… And Keith had been hanging around Lance before he turned him.”_ Said Krolia. _“... I just want Keith to be happy.”_

Kolivan put his hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed. _“I know. We all want what is best for those in our pack… Though you seem to be playing a little bit of match maker here.”_

_“... I’m not going to apologise for that.”_

_“I would have assumed you would have at least try to nudge Keith towards some of the females in our pack first before you just gave up and let him do whatever he wants.”_

_“Times are changing.”_ She said. _“We’ve kind of just accepted that we are a dying breed… My cub’s happiness is more important to me then trying to get him to father a child… Plus I’m pretty sure if one of us said he should have a child with another werewolf he’d stress himself into a coma.”_

 _“Probably. He does get very worked up when it comes to things concerning the pack.”_ Kolivan sighed and closed his eyes. _“Which is why I find it infuriating that he still went against the rules and bit Lance in the first place.”_

 _“Keith was never really bright when he transformed.”_ Muttered Krolia as she watched Keith suddenly stop only to have Lance trip over him and do a flip. He then started barking at Lance who barked back at him. _“... Why are domestics so stupid sometimes?”_

Kolivan shrugged. _“Who knows? Genetics I’m guessing? Not like we can actually test our genetics or anything without outing ourselves.”_

_“True… I hope that everything turns out okay for them.”_

_“I’m sure it will. Now that Keith is taking his teaching seriously.”_ They watched as Keith ran under Lance and bit the larger dog’s tail. Lance yelped, spun around, and Keith got bowled across the ground, right into a tree, where a pile of snow fell on top of him. Seconds later he was barking at Lance to help dig him out. _“... I retract what I said about Keith taking this seriously…”_

***

The next day the boys woke up in Keith’s cabin. After digging Keith out of a snowpile they decided to call it a night and went back to the cabin. Keith had been shivering a little since he was tiny and wet, so the two of them ended up sleeping next to each other. Lance ended up curling around Keith protectively with his lanky limbs.

So when they woke up Lance was essentially spooning Keith, who had pretty much starfished out with one of his legs pretty much pressed up against his dick. “...” Lance was internally screaming and tried to untangle himself from Keith’s limbs.

When he did that Keith ended up waking up. He grabbed Lance’s arm and growled at him. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to get up!” Squeaked Lance. “We’re both naked!”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Fucking townies.” He grumbled. “It’s just skin. Calm the fuck down.” He sat up and stretched. “You guys are such freaks about seeing someone naked. It’s like seeing a dick will somehow kill you or something.”

Lance blushed and quickly scrambled to grab a pillow to give himself some kind of modesty. “Yeah well… We like modesty… Some of us aren’t comfortable being naked in front of people…”

Keith gave Lance a confused look. “Why? You have a good body and it’s not like your dick is small or anything.”

Lance felt like he was going to die. Keith saw everything. When did that happen? Was it when he was passed out the first time? He needed to deflect these thoughts with something childish. “You’ve been looking? You gay or something?”

“Yes.”

That was a surprise to Lance. “What?”

“I’m gay.” Said Keith. He got up and quickly found a pair of pants. “I’m gay. I like men. Never been attracted to women. Why? You got something against gay people?”

“What? No I… I just… I guess I just assumed that you were… I’m bisexual.”

Keith glanced over at him and frowned a little. “Really?”

“Yeah. I like boys and girls…”

“So why were you so freaked out about waking up next to a naked man?”

Lance felt more and more embarrassed by the second. “Just because I like men doesn’t mean I’ve slept with a man before… You don’t really get too much choice when it comes to men on the mountain.”

Keith nodded in agreement and threw Lance’s pants at him. “True... It’s even slimmer pickings when you’re in the pack. It’s a real nightmare. We have to trace back our family tree to try and make sure we don’t accidently inbreed. It’s complete hell…”

“Wow… That’s pretty rough.”

“Yeah… I think I’m pretty much related to everyone in my pack in one way or the other.”

Lance nodded slowly. “Yeah… That’s not good.”

“Yeah… Krolia does talk with other packs and every few years our packs will intermingle to try and make sure we don’t completely fuck our genepool.”

“... How did we go from talking about our sexualities to talking about your pack becoming inbred?”

Keith shrugged. “Well we were talking about sex and how there aren’t any men around here we can fuck. You because you aren’t into other townies, and me because I am like the second second cousin and or nephew to everyone on the mountain. Also everyone is like in their thirties and forties apart from Regris, but he’s technically my third cousin? I think? My family tree is complicated.”

“Yeah… Have you ever considered being with a townie?” Asked Lance.

Keith almost looked insulted. “Why would I? Most people my age in the town treat me like shit. Also most people don’t want their boyfriend to turn into a monster a few times a week… And if they do they want it to be something cool and impressive. Who the fuck thinks a werewolf that changes into a pomeranian is attractive?”

“... I like pomeranians…”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Well you’re a weird townie… Werewolves want a strong and powerful mate that will have their back and be useful… Only townies want a dog that’s practically a toy...” He sighed and pulled on a jumper. “You know, you’re lucky you’re a wolfhound.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

“You’re a wolfhound. You’re a working dog. Wolfhounds were made to hunt down wolves. Once you can fend for yourself you could became pretty popular in the pack if you wanted to stick around… You’re domesticated but you’re useful… You’re not some stupid mascot.”

“Keith…”

He sighed a little and shook his head. “Anyway, we both need to eat before tonight. I’ll go and cook us something. You get dressed or whatever. I don’t care.”

Lance watched Keith leave the room and frowned. Sure Lance knew Keith probably had a hard time as the only pomeranian in the pack, but did he think that Lance was going to replace him or something?


	15. Cremation Pit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Or Keith exploits Lance for free labor again. Either title works for this chapter. Also, squirrels as assholes. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

After eating a breakfast of rabbits and deer meat Keith decided to try and teach Lance what things he should and shouldn’t be eating. Needless to say it consisted of a lot of meat. “Deer is best and it’s good to eat it raw.” He said. “Raw is probably better since it has more blood in it. Also, you don’t need to worry about salmonella anymore. If you start eating raw meat you’ll easily develop the gut bacteria you need to not get it.”

Lance nodded a little. “Huh, that is… That’s interesting… Is raw chicken any good?”

Keith shrugged. “Raw chicken is fine. Not the best but not the worst either… I prefer red meat. If you go out hunting and you find something dead, as long as it isn’t a trap or smells spoiled, you can eat it.”

“... Huh, alright.”

Keith nodded and put a few jars of food out of his cupboard. He picked up a jar of something that looked like green plant matter all mashed up. It was like a badly blended grass juice. Kind of gross. He put the jar in front of Lance.

“... Um, what is this?”

“It’s called Full-moon.” Said Keith. “Ulaz and some of the older werewolves make this. If you eat a spoon full of this you’ll turn into your werewolf form no matter if there is a moon out or not.”

Lance stared at the jar in fascination. “Really?”

“Yeah. It takes just as much energy to change using this as it does with the moon.” Said Keith calmly. “... You’ll want to use this if you need to scent mark your house.”

“Scent mark? You mean peeing, right?”

Keith nodded. “Yeah. We’ll go to your place tonight and I’ll show you where you need to scent mark, but you need to mark your home as yours so other werewolves will know where you live. It’ll stop other werewolves from moving into your territory.”

“Right… So why do I need to do it after eating this?”

“You need to be in your werewolf form to do it. Human piss isn’t as strong as werewolf piss. You’d need to scent mark every few days as a human. As a werewolf it’ll just be once every three months or so. If we can’t get to your place to scent mark we’ll have to do it later.”

“I see… Wait, does that mean that time I saw you running around in the day time you were scent marking?”

“Yep. I would have done it the previous night but Kolivan shoved me in a pet carrier for getting caught and going to the vet.”

“... Sorry about that.” Lance still felt kind of bad about that.

“Look, it’s fine. I didn’t get killed or had my balls cut off. I heard that’s what vets do to strays… Actually, we should get your microchipped too.”

“What? Why?”

“No offence, but you’re an idiot.” Said Keith. “You could get lost or some random human could grab you and take you to a shelter or something. If that happens then your balls might get cut off.”

Lance shifted nervously in his seat. “I see… Okay… There are a lot of things I need to do to be a good werewolf, huh?”

“Yeah, sorry… I’m trying to cram years of knowledge into your brain in a few months.” Keith sat down on the chair and looked at the jar of Full-moon. “... You’re still learning to walk.”

“I’m not getting any better at it, am I?”

“No you are. Really… You’re just kind of janky, but you’re fine.”

Lance smiled a little. “Really?”

“Yeah. You’re doing really well for someone that just turned.”

Lance could feel that tingling down his spine again. “... Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“Um…” Lance nervously tapped at the table. “I um… I’ve been feeling weird ever since I became a werewolf.”

“Oh?” Keith suddenly became very interested. “What is it?”

“My tailbone feels weird.” Said Lance. “Like, sometimes I’ll see someone or something I like I feel a weird tingling in my tailbone… What’s that?”

“Best way to describe it is phantom pains.” Explained Keith. “You want to wag your tail because you’re happy but you can’t since you don’t have a tail at the moment. Happens all the time. No reason to worry about it.”

That was a major relief to Lance. He wasn’t broken or anything like that. “That’s good.”

“Why? You wagging your tail a lot or something?” Asked Keith.

“... Maybe.”

Keith chuckled a little. “It’s fine. Wagging your tail is natural. Means you’re happy… Though it probably feels weird since you don’t have a few extra vertebrae so you wouldn’t really have a tail…” 

“You mean a tail nub? Like you have?”

Keith rolled his eyes at the tail nub remark, but nodded. “Yeah. Tail nub… Anyway, we have some time to kill… Want to go for a walk?”

“Sure.” Lance grinned at him then made a weird expression. “...”

“Did your tail just tingle?”

“N-no… Maybe...”

Keith chuckled a little and threw Lance’s jacket at him. “Come on. I’ll show you some cool stuff.”

***

Lance’s tailbone wouldn’t stop tingling. The two of them had gone out and started hiking and Lance didn’t have any clue why he was so happy. Well, supposedly happy. Jury was still out on that since Keith seemed to hate his guts or something. Even if he felt happy around Keith, Keith probably wasn’t very happy around him, but he was happy to be outside.

After walking for what felt like forever they came to a small clearing surrounded by a fence made of rocks. Keith jumped the fence and gestured for Lance to do the same. In the middle of the clearing was dozens upon dozens of stones with a large dug out pit in the middle of it all. The pit was lined with blackened rocks and filled with burnt materials.

As Lance peered inside it Keith walked along the edge of the fence until he found shovels hidden under the snow. He walked back over to Lance and handed the shovel to him. “It’s our turn to dig the snow out of the cremation pit.”

“... I’m sorry. The what now?”

“The cremation pit.” Repeated Keith. He gestured around them. “This is our graveyard.” He jumped into the pit and started shoveling out the snow.

Lance was just dumbfounded. “So those rocks are?”

“Headstones.” Said Keith. “We burn the bodies, bury the skulls, and spread the ashed over the mountain at its peak.”

“... You bury the skulls?”

“Yeah. Gives us something to visit.” Said Keith. “It’s comforting.”

“I guess?” Lance did not expect Keith to take him to a graveyard. He didn’t know how to feel. Lance did his best to be respectful of other cultures, and werewolves were technically a different culture from his own. He needed to be respectful with this. Handle this with grace and respect and… holy shit Lance didn’t know what to do or say.

After a moment of awkward silence Keith looked up at Lance and frowned. “You gonna come in and help or what?”

“R-right!” Lance quickly got in and started shoveling. “So… Only werewolf skulls buried here?”

“Yeah… That and partners that were never turned.” 

“Oh?”

Keith nodded. “Yeah. Sometimes werewolves fall in love with townies or bush people that aren’t werewolves. They sometimes accept our lifestyle and would sometimes live with us. Back in the day they might not live long enough to get turned. It’s always been a rule that we don’t force our lifestyle onto people and we don’t force people to become werewolves…”

“Why wouldn’t they live long enough?”

“Sickness mostly.” Said Keith. “Measles hit the mountain hard in the mid 1900’s. Lots of dead werewolves. Mostly young and very old… I heard it was pretty sad.”

“Sounds like it… That’s horrible.”

“Yeah…” Keith sighed and shoveled more snow. “My dad is here too… Never ended up getting turned.”

“Really?”

Keith nodded. “Yep. He had been tossing the idea around with my mum for a bit. They agreed when I was old enough to stay out of trouble she would turn him. It was more useful for him to be human during my adolescence.”

“I see…” Lance wanted to know how his dad died, but he felt like Keith had probably shared enough information at this point. “So… when we’re done should we go and pay respect to him? Like bring him flowers or something?”

Keith was quiet for a second before he started to chuckle. “Really? Flowers?”

“Yeah?”

Keith shook his head and laughed some more. “Flowers. That’s dumb. We pay respect to our dead by respecting the mountain.”

“Respecting the mountain?”

Keith nodded. “Yeah. Not destroying it, being respectful, not cutting down all the trees and stuff. All that good shit.”

“Ah, okay.”

“Yeah…” Keith became quiet and started shoveling more snow.

Now Lance felt awkward. He didn’t mean to upset Keith. He didn’t upset Keith, did he? He did. Now he felt really bad. He didn’t want Keith to hate him. He wanted Keith to like him. Like, Keith didn’t have to like-like him. Just enough that they could be friends? Maybe? He just never really knew what to say around Keith. He always said something that made Keith angry at him. He wasn’t a very good werewolf.

“You’re whimpering again.”

“A-am not.”

“Are too.”

“... Maybe a little bit.”

“Okay, what’s wrong now?”

Lance sighed. “Look, this werewolf stuff is hard. I find it hard to understand where the boundaries are. Am I asking something offencive? Is this something everyone knows that I just don’t? Will I get yelled at for asking or doing something dumb? I just don’t know. I only know things about werewolves from movies… I find it hard to talk to you…”

“... It’s hard to talk to you too.” Said Keith quietly. “Hell, talking to anyone my age is hard. Everyone’s talking about what movies they like and internet things I have no idea about… It sucks… I’m really out of touch with everyone that isn’t like fifty.”

“... Do you want to come over to my place and watch some movies? Like after the run is over? It can be fun. Like a proper movie night? Hunk and Pidge can come over. Maybe Allura? You could invite Shiro over if you like?”

“So you can drool over him?”

Lance went red. “I told Keef that in confidence!”

Keith chuckled. “Relax. I didn’t tell him anything. I’m just embarrassed for you… Sorry to say, but you can’t Shiro’s type. He doesn’t fuck dogs.”

“Yeah, isn’t he like a werewolf hunter or something?”

Keith nodded. “Yep. Shiro was a hunter… He came here because he had heard of werewolf activity. Kolivan smelt him out immediately. They had a little talk and came to an agreement. Shiro didn’t want any trouble and we didn’t want any trouble… Shiro helped me keep out of trouble… He’s like a brother to me, even though we should technically be enemies…”

“Yeah, I can see him getting you out of a lot of trouble.” Said Lance. “You seem like a trouble maker.”

He chuckled a little. “Yeah, I am. I bit you didn’t I?”

‘Yep.” Lance shoveled up the last of the snow and climbed out of the pit. “Alright, do we need to brush the snow off the headstones?

Keith shook his head. “We clean the headstones in Spring. We do a lot of maintenance around here in Spring.”

Lance nodded and helped Keith out of the pit. “So is this the part where you hit me over the head with a shovel and set me on fire?”

"The only people getting burned in the pit are people that are part of the pack.” Said Keith. “No outsiders.”

“And I’m an outsider?”

Keith nodded. “Kolivan hasn’t said you’re part of the pack. I’m just meant to teach you how to be a werewolf. Teaching you about the small bits and pieces of pack life is important. Graveyard duty is very important pack life stuff.”

“I see…” Lance awkwardly turned the shovel around in his hands and looked over at the stones. There were a fair few of them. Some big, some small. It was shocking to think that all of those stones represented people from Keith’s pack. He hadn’t ever been in a graveyard before. So it was all kind of eerie.

Keith took the shovel from Lance and went to put them back where he got them. Along the way Keith momentarily stopped and looked down at a stone. It looked like every other one there, but Keith had a solemn look on his face. Lance’s chest felt tight. That was probably where his father was buried. Maybe he should leave? Give Keith a little privacy? That would be the right thing to do, right?

Lance quickly and quietly walked over to the stone fence and tried to jump over it. He didn’t lift his legs up as high as he thought he did and clipped the wall with his feet. He let out a yelp as he fell and hit the snow.

“... Fuck.”

As Lance quietly hoped that the snow would swallow him up he heard snow crunching as Keith walked over towards him. “You okay there?”

“Yes… Just thought I’d take a close up look at the snow.” Muttered Lance. “Yep. This is snow. Very snowy snow.”

Keith chuckled and jumped over the fence. “You’re an idiot. Why did you try to run off?”

Lance pouted and pulled himself out of the snow, brushing it off himself. “Just thought you might need some time alone. Trying to be respectful and stuff.”

“Oh…” Keith seemed a little surprised. “That is… Thanks. I appreciate th-” Keith quickly turned his head and stared wide eyed at something off in the distance. Lance followed his eyes and saw what he was looking at. Small, dark brown, fluffy and twitchy.

“... Squirrel.” Whispered Lance.

“Mine.” Said Keith quietly before he bolted for it.

“Hey! No fair!” Yelled Lance as he ran after it. The squirrel looked like it just about crapped itself before it bolted at the sight of two people running after it.

“I saw it first!” Snapped Keith as he dived for it. It looked like he had grabbed it, so Lance jumped on top of him. Just to grab the squirrel of course. He tried to throw Keith onto his back and pull his hands apart. Keith growled at him and tried to throw him off. Lance responded by barking at him and trying harder to pry his hands open.

This ended with the two of them rolling into a tree. Lance straddled Keith and pulled his hands apart. Both boys were shocked to see that Keith hadn’t managed to grab the squirrel, but a pine cone covered in moss.

“... Where’s the squirrel?” Asked Lance.

“I don’t know… You distracted me!” Snapped Keith.

“Me? You’re the one that- Ow!” Lance got pegged in the back of the head with an acorn. Keith let out a yelp as he got hit in the forehead with a similar nut. Looking up the two of them quickly spotted a very pissed off looking squirrel. It chattered away at them for a few seconds before it bolted further up the tree and across the branches into another tree.

“... Did we just get bested by a squirrel?” Asked Keith.

“I think we did…”

The two were quiet for a moment before they both burst into laughter. Of course this was going to happen to them. What else was going to happen to them when they chased a squirrel? Actually catch it? No way.

Lance grinned and looked down at Keith. He suddenly realised the compromising position they were in. Keith all splayed out and vulnerable under him. He looked pretty with his hair all splayed out in the snow and with his chest heaving slightly from all the play fighting they were doing. He smiled up at Lance, which made Lance’s stomach do flips. If this was a movie this would be the part where they would kiss.

Just before he leaned in to do so Keith grabbed a handful of snow and shoved it into Lance’s face. It threw him off momentarily and Keith was able to push him off. He got up and brushed the snow off himself, still laughing.

“Come on. We better get going. I’m freezing my ass off here.”

Lance blushed and wiped the snow off his face. “Y-yeah. Getting a fire started is good.” He felt like he squandered his opportunity to kiss Keith, then again if Keith didn’t like it he might bite his lips. That would suck. Oh well. Maybe next time?


	16. Movies and Medics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A cute and silly chapter about both these things. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

The next few runs went pretty well in Keith’s opinion. Lance was finally walking normally on four legs. He was still a little janky when it came to running, but they were doing pretty well. Keith was pretty proud of Lance for doing so. Maybe Lance was actually naturally gifted, or maybe he was a good teacher? Yeah, he was a good teacher. He deserved this win.

When the run was over Lance brought up his movie night idea again. Keith wasn’t sure what he thought about it since he hadn’t done something like that ever. Closest he would get was him watching old movies at Shiro’s place. Sometimes as a werewolf or a human.

He reluctantly agreed when Lance said he could bring some food or drink if he liked. So Keith walked up to Lance’s place with a few jars of moonshine. He hoped that this was what Lance meant. He got to Lance’s place an hour before sundown and the man happily welcomed him into his home.

Keith walked in and sat on the couch while Lance went to put the jars in the fridge. Lance wasn’t too sure what he was meant to do. Lance’s house was so big and he just felt out of place. He awkwardly took off his shoes and pulled his legs up onto the couch. He felt so awkward.

After a few minutes showed up. Keith immediately felt better when he saw him. Lance practically jumped on Shiro as soon as he saw him. “Shiro!”

Shiro managed to hold Lance with one arm while putting the bag of snacks he brought along on the ground. “Whoa, you okay there Lance?”

Lance suddenly went very red and let him go. “Oh um… I… Jesus fucking christ… I swear that was just a werewolf thing. I totally didn’t mean to jump on you like that. I’m so sorry.” He grabbed the bag Shiro brought along with him and quickly escaped to the kitchen.

Shiro smiled and shook his head as he sat by Keith on the couch. “Werewolves. Am I right?” Keith huffed and hugged Shiro’s arm. “Yep. Werewolves.” He patted Keith’s head a few times before Keith let him go. “So what movie do you guys want to watch?”

“Pidge is bringing over her Kaiju movies.” Called Lance from the kitchen. “You said you like those movies, right Keith?”

“Um, yeah! I do!” He called back. Keith was surprised that Lance remembered that he liked those movies. He’d only mentioned it once. Shiro looked over at Keith and gave him a questioning look. That made Keith blush and Shiro laugh. “Sh-shut up Shiro.”

Soon Hunk and Pidge turned up and everyone was squeezed around the couch. Pidge had a backpack full of movies and was happily digging through them while Hunk was looking at the jars of moonshine that Keith brought along with him with some skepticism. 

“So… you guys make this stuff?” He asked.

“Antok makes it.” Said Keith. “It’s not illegal if we don’t sell it. But it is pretty powerful so you might want to just take a shot and leave it at that.”

“Right…” Hunk put the jar down.

Pidge grinned and pulled out several movies. “Okay Keith, you’re the Kaiju expert here; Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla or Gamera?”

“Do you have Varan the Unbelievable?”

Pidge frowned and quickly dug around. “Um… Yes!” She held it up and grinned. “Hell yeah!”

“Sweet.”

Pidge happily popped the movie in and the group enjoyed terribly dubbed Japanese movies and old school special effects. Keith loved it. It was so dumb and cheesy. He could feel his tail tingling like crazy. 

Though this wasn’t his pack he hadn’t really done much pack stuff in a while and it made him happy. Their pack stuff usually meant getting together to have a barbeque in the Spring. Usually on a New Moon. Lots of food, and someone would get too drunk and try to walk through the fire. Someone would crack open a jar of Full-moon then there would be lots of drunk werewolves trying to fight each other. The last time everyone in his pack was all together and not barbequing meat was when Keith graduated. Even then they just went out for dinner and everyone got really drunk… Five people were arrested for disorderly conduct...

But this was nice. It was nice to do something quiet and more reserved with everyone else. Maybe it was the domestic side of him showing? While he did feel good about being with everyone, he felt bad about being domesticated. He was a werewolf. A proud werewolf, even if he looked like he belonged in someone’s purse...

Suddenly Lance dropped himself right next to Keith. Squishing himself between Keith and the arm rest. Before Keith could protest Lance shoved a large bowl of chips in front of him. “Chicken chips? No? Shiro? You want any?”

“Nah, I’m good.”

Lance shrugged and settled into the couch. The sudden closeness surprised Keith but it wasn’t an unpleasant surprise. The closeness was nice and Keith had always liked the warmth he could get from sitting next to someone. He blamed it on being a small were-pomeranian. He was just naturally seeking out warmth like he normally did in Winter. It just happened that this time he was seeking warmth from a body and not from the fireplace.

“... Hunk, can you pass me one of the jars?” Asked Keith. Hunk handed Keith a jar of alcohol. “Thanks.” Keith unscrewed it and quickly gulped down a few mouthfuls. It was strong and thick like syrup. He shuddered a little and Shiro took the jar off him. “Hey, I wasn’t done with that.”

“Yes you were.” Said Shiro. “Unless you’re planning to sleep outside again. You’re going to get lost on the way home.”

“Am not.” He whined.

Lance chuckled and leaned into Keith. “He can crash here tonight if he likes. He’s done it before.”

Hearing that made Pidge look away from the TV just for a moment. Her eyes lit up like a wolf finding an injured rabbit. Quick and easy prey. “Oh? Keith has spent the night before?”

“Yeah.” Said Lance. “Keith’s crashed on the couch a few times.”

“Interesting…”

Keith frowned a little. He didn’t like what Pidge might be cooking up. Humans were terribly sneaky and calculating. “... Hey Pidge, can I come by the clinic tomorrow? Someone’s got a dog they need vaxxed and chipped.”

She nodded. “Yeah, sure. What’s the little guy’s name?”

“Well he isn’t little.” Said Keith. “... He’s a wolfhound named Bambi.”

Lance almost choked to death on a chip.

***

Lance was not pleased with this. Not any of this. First of all; that Full-moon stuff tasted nasty. It tasted like what sweaty feet smelled like. Secondly; Keith had put a collar on him. Thirdly; the vets smelled so fucking weird. The only good thing about all this was the fact that he could still talk to Keith when he was a dog while Keith was still human. Something about them being werewolves or something? Lance didn’t get it, but at least he could talk to someone about what was going on.

When they walked into the clinic and Pidge’s eyes went wide. “Holy shit. You weren’t joking. He really is a wolfhound.”

Lance started wagging his tail when he saw her. _“Hi Pidge!”_

“And he’s a loud boy too. Fun.”

Keith shrugged and walked up to the front desk. Lance was tall enough to rest his chin on the desk. Though when he did Keith pushed his head off the desk. “Yeah, he’s very friendly. Likes to talk. Is a baby.”

_“Am not!”_

“See? He’s whining again.” Said Keith. “Total baby.”

Pidge chuckled and reached over to pat Lance. He melted into her hand. It felt nice to get pats from Pidge. Her hands were soft and her fingers knew just where to scratch. It was perfect. He closed his eyes and let out content noises.

“So you said he was called Bambi? Why’s that?” Asked Pidge.

Keith shrugged. “When he was younger he was super wonky when he walked. We think he has some neurological disorder or something. He’s fine though. Still walks around and does what he’s meant to.”

Pidge nodded and started to type some stuff on the computer. “Right… So just a check up? Getting all his shots and and de-nutted?”

_“... Ex-fucking-cuse me?”_

Keith chuckled a little and looked down at Lance. “Nah, he’s keeping his balls. Who knows? Might think about breeding some wolfhound puppies in the future? Then cut his balls off.”

Lance glared at him. _“I will kill you.”_

“Okay.” Said Pidge. “Bambi keeps his nuts another day.” She typed in a few more things before she nodded. “Alright. Dad will see you guys in a bit. Sit down and wait.”

Keith nodded and took a seat while Lance sat next to him. He sighed heavily and looked up at him. _“Were you serious about cutting my balls off?”_

Keith rolled his eyes and patted his head. “Quit your whining. You were never going to lose your balls.”

_“Really?”_

“Yeah. Not gonna randomly get rid of those. I know you’re not going to be dumb and screw around and have some really fucked up looking pups.”

_“... Oh… Never thought of that…”_ Lance lied down on the floor. Now the images of his possibly horrifying dog children were dancing in his head. Did this mean he needed to consider getting a vasectomy? But he wanted kids at some point. He wanted a family. At least one kid… 

What if he got a girl pregnant and they gave birth to something that looked like a dog foetus? What if he got a dog pregnant and they gave birth to some kind of human foetus? Then the dog ate it… Why would he fuck a dog? Oh lord have mercy he better at least be in a rut and in his werewolf form if he fucks a dog… And if he was fucking any dog-like creature it better be another werewolf… Did werewolf babies look human or did they look like puppies? Did Keith look like a puppy when he was born or did he look human? 

_“Keith? I have an important question for you.”_

“Hmm?”

_“When you were born, did you look like a puppy or a human, or some ungodly abomination of both?”_

“...”

_“Keith?”_

“I wonder if it’s too late to tell Pidge to neuter you…”

_“KEITH!”_

“What’s all this barking about?” Asked Sam as he walked out. His eyes landed on Lance and looked surprised. “Oh wow. That is a big boy. Bring him in Keith.”

The two of them walked into one of the rooms and Sam happily crouched down. “So you’re Bambi? You look like a good and healthy boy.”

“He’s friendly.” Said Keith. “Doesn’t bite, but is a baby.”

Sam nodded and started examining Lance. “Let’s see… Nice gums. Teeth are healthy… Good muscle tone. Not too skinny. He’s being fed really well. What’s he being used for?”

“Emotional support.” Said Keith. “He can’t hunt for shit-”

_“Fuck you.”_

“-But he is nice to have around. He’ll probably get used for breeding soon. We know people that breed leonberger’s. They have a few bitches ready to breed in the Spring.”

_“Why is my cover story that you’re pimping me out?”_

Keith rolled his eyes and put his hand on Lance’s head. “Yes. You’re going to meet all the cute girls and have lots of puppies.”

Lance huffed. _“What if I don’t want to do that? What if I like boys more than the girls you’re trying to pawn me off to? I-”_ He took pause when he felt Sam grab his tail and a thermometer got shoved up his ass. _“HELLO!”_

Keith chuckled at Lance’s reaction. “Aw, it’s okay Bambi.”

After a few more minutes of this, several injections and a microchip later, Lance awkwardly walked out of the vets with Keith following after him. Lance was not amused and simply refused to look at him. The indignity of it all.

“Why are you mad at me? I told you this was going to happen eventually.”

_“I’ve been forever labeled as Bambi!_ He whined. _“Fuck you! I’m going home!”_

Keith sighed heavily as he followed him back to his house. Keith let him in and Lance promptly fell onto the carpet. He whined some more and thumped his tail against the ground. While he was quietly brooding away Keith sat next to him and started patting him. It felt nice to have Keith run his fingers over his head and sides. Then he stopped.

Lance looked up at Keith and huffed again. _“Why did you stop?”_

He shrugged. “My hand was getting tired.”

_“... Fine.”_

“You know, you did pretty well today.”

_“You think so?”_

“I know so… So um… I guess until the Full-moon wears off I can stick around and help you out?”

_“Really?”_

“Yeah. Don’t worry about it.” Said Keith. “You did the same for me when you thought I was just a dog”

Lance started to wag his tail. _“Yeah. I did, didn’t I? I did a good thing.”_

“Yeah. You did.”

Lance’s tail started to wag faster at the praise. _“Really?”_

“Yep. Got any movies you want to watch? You’ll probably be stuck like this for a few more hours.”

_“Pidge still left me a few Kaiju movies. We can watch those?”_

A smile made its way onto Keith’s face which made Lance wag his tail so much it actually started to hurt from how much it was hitting the floor. “Sounds good… But you’re going to have to show me how to use the TV.”

_“... Alright.”_ If Keith broke his TV it didn’t matter how much of a crush Lance had on him. He would beat the hell out of Keith.


	17. Like-like him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance continues to be a very good boy while Keith starts to catch feelings. Also like a good boy. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

“I WANT TO SPEAK TO THE MANAGER!” Screeched the extremely angry woman. She had ordered an extremely complicated order that everyone knew was not possible. They didn’t deviate from the board. Only changing out milk when asked. This woman kept trying to bully one of the younger staff when they told her that they couldn’t make her drink.

It pissed Lance off so he stepped in and slammed his hand down on the counter and practically barked at her. “WOMAN! I AM THE MANAGER! ORDER WHAT’S ON THE BOARD OR GET OUT!”

“YOU CAN’T TALK LIKE THAT TO ME! YOU ARE RUINING MY VA-”

“YOU ARE RUINING MY DAY!” He snapped. Lance glared at her and growled. “And I am to be frank, lady, if you being completely illiterate and not being able to order like a decent human being is ruining your vacation you have some serious issues.”

The woman spluttered. “I-I know the owner of this place! He and I go way back!”

“Oh, so you know my childhood friend who also happens to be the daughter of the CEO of whole ski resort?” Asked Lance. “Wow, I wonder why she never told me she got a sex change? Must have been really sneaky since we’ve been friends since before either of us could even walk and she's always been a girl.”

The woman’s face was red with anger. She looked like she was going to blow a fuse. “Y-you…”

Lance gestured to the front door. “I think you know where the exit is. Move it, or do I have to make a few calls to get you blacklisted from here, the town, and every resort in the county?” 

The woman, still red faced quickly left and attempted to slam the door shut. It didn’t work. A few years ago Alfor had anti-slam door hinges put in. This just made her angrier as she stormed off. Possibly to make a complaint to someone somewhere.

Lance rolled his eyes and started texting Allura what happened. He’d need to go into the back office and send her a copy of the security. He looked over at his workers. The girl that was getting bullied by the woman was crying and the other girl was doing her best to try and comfort her. Lance sighed a little and walked over to them. 

“Hey, you can go home now. No one deserves to be yelled at like that.”

She shook her head. “N-no… I just need a moment.”

Lance nodded and gestured to the back room. “You go ahead and take five. I need to send off the security footage to Allura.” He looked at the other girl. “You good with manning the front while I do this? Shouldn’t take more than fifteen.”

“It’s fine.” She said and went to working the counter. Any of the patrons still inside gave them sympathetic looks.

It didn’t take Lance long to send Allura the footage and he filed an incident report. Hopefully this would be fine. He sighed loudly and ran his fingers through his hair. This was fine… This was okay. Right? Maybe… He hoped that entitled bitch wouldn’t come back. They seriously needed to get a shame wall.

There was a knock at the door frame and Lance looked up. The seasonal worker was standing there. Her eyes were red and puffy, but she looked a little better than before. Lance offered her a tissue box.

She smiled a little and grabbed a few tissues. “Thanks.” She said quietly. “I-I’ve never seen anyone stand up to crazy people like that before…”

Lance smiled. “Hey, no problem. I don’t take too kindly to people randomly threatening my staff.”

She nodded and smiled some more. “So um… I was wondering if you’d like to do something after work?”

Normally Lance would have jumped at the opportunity to spend some time with a cute co-worker, but he couldn’t. Not today. “Sorry. I already have plans with a friend.”

She blushed a little and nodded. “Oh yeah, I keep forgetting you actually live here, right?”

Lance nodded. “Yep.”

“Ah… I see… Um… Maybe next time? I’m still grateful for what you did for me.”

Lance smiled at her and got up. “Okay, when you’re feeling better come back out. You take your time to feel better, okay?”

She smiled a little and nodded. “Thanks Lance. You’re the best.”

Hearing her say that put Lance in a good mood for the rest of his shift. His tailbone was tingling the whole time. Then when he left out the back door his tailbone started to tingle more when he saw Keith waiting for him.

“Keith!”

He jumped a little in surprise. “Fucking hell! Why do you shout at me? I’m right in front of you!”

“... Because I’m happy to see you?” His tailbone slowly stopped tingling. “If you didn’t want to see me you could have just texted me. We have each other’s numbers now… Like, we’ve had them for a while…”

Keith sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, brushing out several twigs and leafs. “Yeah. I know. I wanted to quiz you before I have to go on patrol again.”

“I thought Kolivan was pulling back on that?”

“I still need to do it.” Said Keith. “Come on. Let’s go to you car. What kills werewolves?”

“Um, pure silver.” Said Lance as they walked to the car. “Doesn’t matter what as long as you get impaled with it. Bullets, daggers, spears.”

Keith nodded approvingly. “Glad you remembered it isn’t just bullets. What else?”

“Wolfsbane?”

“Yep. In its natural form it can kill us in seconds.” Said Keith with a knowing look. “It has medical uses but only Ulaz knows how to make it safe. Anything else?”

“... Not off the top of my head?”

Keith rolled his eyes and flicked Lance’s forehead. “Mistletoe. Mistletoe oil and juice from the berries are deadly. Don’t eat and if you touch it wash your hands a lot after. Okay?”

Lance pouted and rubbed his forehead. “Yeah, yeah…” He unlocked his car and the two of them got in. They drove back to Lance’s place and got out. Keith grabbed the spare keys Lance left under a rock and walked inside before flopping onto the couch. 

This had quickly become routine for them. Lance would get off his shift and Keith would be there. They would go back to his place and they’d eat extremely undercooked meat while talking about werewolf stuff. Tonight they were eating lamb sausages and microwaved brown rice.

Keith, true to his canine instincts quickly wolfed it down with the speed and gusto of a true wolf. He only paused to lick some of the juices off his lips. Lance was just happy that Keith was using his fork and not his hands.

“So, you think you’re going to be able to hunt anytime soon?” Asked Keith between bites.

Lance shrugged. “I can only kind of walk. Do you really think I can hunt soon?”

“Yeah. You’d probably be shit, but you could give it a go.”

Lance pouted a little. “I could hunt something bigger than you could… What’s the biggest thing you’ve killed when you were a werewolf?”

“A bear.”

“I said when you were a werewolf.”

“I know. I did.”

Lance didn’t know if Keith was lying or not. “How?”

Keith wiped some bits of rice off his face and launched into his story. “Okay, so a few years ago I was just sniffing around, minding my own business when I found the scent trail of a bear. I followed it to see where it was and the damn thing was too close to the town. I tried to scare it off but it fucking went for me. I tore up its legs and took out its throat. Then I gutted it.”

“... I find that hard to believe but okay Pom-pom.”

“... Shut up Bambi.”

Lance poked his tongue out. “Come on man. You gotta be fucking with me. No way a pomeranian could take out a bear.”

“Oh, you doubt me?” Asked Keith in an amused tone. “I’ve been a werewolf longer than you have. I know how my body works. I can destroy a bear.”

“Okay Pom-pom. You also walked to school backwards in a snowstorm?”

“... I took a bus?”

Lance shook his head. “Anyway, I think my parents have some animal back in their roof.”

“Why?”

“I went over there and I smelt something really weird. They couldn’t smell anything so it might not be a dead thing.” Said Lance. “Could you come by and check? Mama and Pop-pop think you’re nice. They’ll probably feed you again.”

Keith thought for a moment before he nodded. “Yeah, sure. I don’t mind. Your parents are nice. They are good people.”

Lance grinned as his tailbone continued to tingle. “Yeah. My parents are the best. Oh! I can ask Mama to make you some brazo de gitano, or turrones! She makes those in big batches so there’s probably a few of those still around. Oh, maybe she can make som tamarindo pulpitas? It’s been so long since I’ve had those… Oh, but she’ll probably make quesitos. She’s so good at making those. They were always pretty simple to make and she could make a lot of them. Super handy when you have a lot of kids.”

“Yes.” Said Keith. “I totally know what all those are.”

“...” Lance snorted out a laugh. “Sorry. I don’t know if any of them have English names. My parents are Cuban. We still speak Spanish at home. I’m guessing you don’t speak Spanish?”

“I know English and Werewolf.”

“Fair enough.”

“Yeah.” Keith pushed some rice around with his fork a little more. “Um… In a few weeks lunar solstice is going to happen...”

“Lunar solstice?”

“Yeah. It’s a werewolf holiday.” Said Keith. “The time when the moon is furthest away from the Earth… You’re not really part of the pack, but I’m pretty sure Kolivan would let you join in. I mean, he’s let Shiro join in a few times.”

A werewolf holiday. That sounded exciting, and Keith was asking him to go? Did this mean he was being accepted into the pack? Did Keith accept him into the pack? Even just a little? It was kind of exciting. 

“You don’t have to do if you don’t want to…”

“No, I want to go!” Lance practically barked. “I’ll go! I’ll go!”

Keith jumped a little at Lance’s sudden outburst, but smiled. “Okay. I’ll let Kolivan know.”

“Yeah. So what’s it about? Its it kind of like Winter solstice?”

“I don’t know how people celebrate that.” Said Keith. “But the Lunar solstice is something we celebrate with lots of singing, dancing, and drinking.”

“So like a typical party?”

“Pretty much. Just don’t fall into the bonfire.”

Lance grinned. “Yeah. sound good. I’ll definitely be there. Just tell me where and when and I’ll show up. I’ll bring stuff too if I need to.” He was really excited to see what a werewolf holiday would involve.

***

Keith was currently panicking. After he had talked to Lance about Lunar solstice he went straight to Shiro’s house and collapsed on his couch. Sure it might not seem like such a big deal inviting Lance to such an event, but if really was. Kolivan was the one that extended invitations to outsiders to these things. Not him. Why did he even mention this to him? He was going to get in trouble for this. He just knew it.

Shiro looked over the book he was reading at Keith for a few moments before putting his book down. “You okay?”

“I think Kolivan’s going to kick my ass again.”

“... Did you bite someone else?”

“What? No.” Keith sat up and stared at him with a serious expression. “I invited Lance to the Lunar solstice.”

“And?”

“Kolivan’s the pack leader. He’s the one that does that stuff.” Said Keith. “He’s not going to be happy that I went ahead and did this…”

Shiro frowned a little. “Um, but aren’t you Lance’s teacher? You’re meant to teach him werewolf stuff. Kolivan might be happy to see you inviting him to werewolf holidays? You’re meant to make him feel like he’s part of the pack, or at least he has a pack he can rely on.”

“I guess… I’ll have to talk to Kolivan about it… I’ve already fucked up so much already.” Keith sighed heavily and ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t want to get kicked out of the pack.”

Shiro put down his book and sat next to him, gently patting his back. “Keith, Kolivan loves you. If he didn’t kick you out because you bit Lance he’s not going to kick you out for inviting him to that.”

“I know… But I still worry. I can’t help it.” Muttered Keith. He started picking at a loose thread on his pants. “... I’m already a fuck up. I mean, I’m a pomeranian… I’m not that useful for the pack these days… Maybe a hundred years ago I could have been useful as a spy or something, but no one hunts werewolves these days.”

“Um… Technically I’m still a werewolf hunter.”

“Yeah, well, you’ve gone soft. You don’t hunt werewolves anymore.”

“As far as you know.”

“I would have smelt our blood on you if you were actually hunting us now.”

Shiro chuckled a little and started to mess with his hair. “True.”

Keith pouted and pushed his hand away. “Quit it…”

He chuckled and put Keith into a headlock. Keith flailed slightly and bit his arm a few times. Even though Keith’s bites were infectious Shiro, like all hunters, were immune to werewolf bites. It didn’t matter how many times he bit Shiro, the worst he would get is a normal infection he’d need antibiotics for. But only if he bit hard. He wasn’t trying to pierce Shiro’s skin anyway.

Shiro rolled his eyes and ruffled Keith’s hair some more until Keith eventually gave up trying to fight him. “... How dare you use your human strength against me.”

“How dare you use you werewolf strength against me.”

“What werewolf strength? I need to be a werewolf to do that… Besides we don’t measure our strength by what we can lift. You know that.”

“Ah, very true. Are you guys going to have that competition again?”

“If Thace can bother to lug it down from his cabin, than yeah… I might be small, but I am still strong.”

“You think Lance will be any good at it?”

Keith shrugged. “No idea. He can’t even hunt so he’s probably not going to be that strong…”

Shiro shrugged. “Who knows? He might surprise you guys.”

“He might… So I didn’t completely fuck up by telling Lance about the Lunar solstice?”

“No. But it is kind of weird how much you’re worrying about all this… This isn’t just about Kolivan is it?”

“...”

Shiro let him go and sighed. “Keith, do you like Lance? Like, like-like him?”

“... I don’t know… Do I?”

“I can’t answer that for you. That’s something you need to figure out for yourself. Okay?”

“Okay…” Keith slumped back into the couch and sighed. Did he like Lance? He hadn’t really thought about how he felt towards Lance very much. Sure he liked being around him and teaching him how to be a good werewolf, and his honesty with his emotions was refreshing and Lance was kind of adorable. He’d have to think about his feelings a little more.


	18. Lunar Solstice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a long boy. But it's gonna be fun. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

The night of the Lunar solstice was fast approaching. Everyone from the pack had started to drag over supplies to Thace’s place. Over the other side of the river of course. The place where Keith had taught Lance to walk and run like a wolf. 

Keith was excited as usual. Sure human holidays were fine and all, but they were… Well, Keith found them boring and tame. They weren’t anything like werewolf holidays. They didn’t have many holidays. Just the Lunar solstice, some fertility thing in Spring, and a drinking festival in Summer.

The fertility thing these days was just an excuse to eat food these days. It was more about celebrating anyone that happened to get knocked up over the spring while everyone else got hammered and randomly fought each other. They were still very hormonal and needed to burn off some of that aggression somehow. Last year Regris got his leg stuck in a tree after he punched it really, really hard. He also broke a finger.

When they all got smashed in the summer it was, apparently, meant to be connected to the Summer solstice. Though Keith never got a really clear idea why. In all likelihood Antok probably just made too much moonshine one Summer and needed to get rid of it. Not like anyone would turn down free booze.

So there Keith was, helping Regris clear some snow to make a firepit. The older werewolf whined. “This sucks. I don’t wanna do this!”

Keith shrugged. “Hey, at least we get shovels and don’t have to use our paws.”

“True… But damn! I don’t wanna do this!” They pouted. “Well, you don’t even have to be here for the whole preparation! You have a job in town!”

Keith grinned. “Yep. Can’t help it if the McClains like me.”

Regris huffed and shoveled some more snow. “Can’t believe you’re getting out of this just because you’re sniffing around the new werewolf.”

“I’m not sniffing around him…” He grumbled. “I turned him so I have to look after him… I’m not sniffing around him… Why the hell would I be sniffing around him anyway? Firstly; Lance is super fucking tall when he’s a werewolf. I couldn’t sniff him even if I tried. Secondly; it isn’t Spring...” 

“... Well aren’t you all defensive?”

Keith blushed a little and shoveled more snow. “Shut up. I’m not sniffing around Lance…”

“I’m just messing around.” Said Regris. “Unless…”

Keith threw a shovel of snow at him, and then the shovel. “Fuck off… I’m going over to the McClain place.”

“Asshole! You can’t just leave me here!”

Keith flipped him off and headed back to town. More people were walking the streets now. Tourists probably. Lots of kids. It was okay. He just had to get to the residential area as fast as possible. 

He made it to the McClain house and knocked on the door. Rosa answered and happily smiled at him. “Keith! So good to see you again! Come in, come in!” She practically pulled him inside and directed him towards the kitchen. Julio was sitting in an armchair in the lounge room and waved when he saw him.

“H-hello sir.” He called as he walked by.

“Hola!”

Rosa directed Keith to the kitchen where his senses were immediately assaulted by the delicious sweet scent of sugar and butter. It made his mouth water. “What are you cooking?”

“Oh, a bit of this and a bit of that.” She said in a nonchalaunt kind of way. She held up a plate of plate of nougats. “Turrones. I made some with and without nuts.”

“I was under the impression you had something in your roof?” Questioned Keith. “Lance mentioned it before…”

Rosa sighed and shook her head. “Well, while that is true, we have a few mouse traps up there. He came around here the other day and talked to us about it, and when he said you didn’t know anything about desserts, well I just couldn’t help myself. I had to educate you.”

“Oh, that’s really not necessary.”

“But it is. Now sit.” She made Keith sit at the counter and started giving him plates of desserts. “Now, you tell me what you like and what you don’t like.”

“Okay…” Keith felt a little awkward, but free food was free food. He’d made his way through three of those turrones, a slice of some vanilla cake, and a thing with a lot of caffeine in it by the time Lance showed up.

He grinned and greeted his parents in Spanish. Keith still had no idea what they were saying but he was pretty sure they were talking about him at some point since his name got tossed around a few times. Keith just sat on his stool and nervously chewed on a turrones. He was pretty sure it was filled with almonds. Almonds were nice.

Lance walked over to him and greeted him with just as much enthusiasm as he did when he met his parents. “Keith!” He threw his arms around Keith and hugged him. The sudden action almost made Keith choke on his food.

“You really don’t need to shout my name at me…” He muttered.

Lance pouted and took some nougat off his plate. “Mean.”

“How is that mean when I’m protecting my hearing? Also, your parents don’t need me to check for mice in the roof… I just came here and your mum started feeding me.”

Lance shrugged. “She does that. But come on, it’s good food right?”

“... Yes.”

“Then it’s all good, right?”

Rosa happily walked into the room and turned on the kettle. “Keith, would you like some coffee?”

“Yes please Mrs McClain.” He said politely. 

“Can I have some coffee too?” Asked Lance.

Rosa smiled playfully at her son. “Oh? Can’t you make your own coffee?”

“But your coffee is the best!” Whined Lance. “Everything tastes better when you make it.”

She chuckled a little and smiled at Keith. “See how he plays with my emotions?”

“Mama!”

She laughed and started making coffee for all of them. “So tell me Keith, what sweets did you like when you were a child?”

Keith shrugged. “Didn’t really eat many cookies and cakes when I was growing up. Sometimes I had money for candy, but it was usually the cheap dollar candies… So stuff like those chalky candy hearts. But we do make a lot of jams and other preservatives. So when I was younger if I was good I’d get a spoon full of whatever jam we had in the pantry.”

Rosa nodded and smiled as she got a nostalgic look on her face. “Reminds me of when I was younger. My abuela would give me and my siblings a sugar cube if we did chores.”

Keith smiled a little. “Yeah, well sugar is a little hard to come by sometimes… One of the other things we do is freeze maple syrup in the snow and roll it onto sticks.”

“Really?” Asked Lance.

Keith nodded. “Yeah. Verk has a few maple trees near his house and he taps them every now and then. He’ll probably bring a few jars down tonight.”

“Cool.”

Rosa gave the boys their coffee. “Tonight? What are you boys doing tonight?”

“Oh um, a bonfire thing.” Said Keith. “It’s just a little something us bush people do every winter. Brings us together and stuff… Lance has been helping me out a lot over the past few weeks so I invited him to come along…”

The older woman was positively beaming. Keith could see where Lance got his happy and cheerful nature from. “That’s wonderful! You boys stay warm. Wouldn’t want either of you to catch a cold now. It’s very chilly out there at night.”

“Don’t worry mama, we will.”

“Good.” She gestured to the rest of the sweets. “Eat as much as you like and I’ll box up the rest for you boys to take.” She grabbed the other coffee cups and went out to her husband.

“... She really likes cooking huh?”

“Mama shows her love through her cooking.”

After about an hour Lance and Keith left the house with several boxes of desserts. Keith had no idea how he was going to eat all of it before it spoiled. Maybe he could give some of it to Shiro or a few other werewolves in the area? That would probably be for the best.

On the way back they organised how they were going to get to Thace’s place, since Lance still had no idea how to get there. Lance really needed to learn how to navigate the forest. He still had trouble getting to Keith’s place, and Keith had wrapped neon reflective tape around the trees heading to his place just for Lance. Hopefully things would go alright.

After Keith stored his food away he had nothing but time before meeting up with Lance again. Normally he would spend that time listening to the radio and maybe taking a nap, but he felt that maybe he should have a shower or something? Lance would probably have a shower and dress in nicer clothes or something, right? 

Keith went and had a shower. Something he didn’t usually do in winter unless he really had to. Mainly because it took forever to dry off and he hated being wet and cold. He also didn’t have much in the way of personal hygiene stuff either. Sure he has soap and deodorant, but it was the non scented stuff since most perfumed stuff made him sneeze, and the shampoo he used was either that dry shampoo stuff in a can or that no more tears baby shampoo.

It didn’t really make him smell nice or anything like that, but he did smell clean which was a good thing. He knew the other werewolves in his pack wouldn’t care what he smelled like, as long as he didn’t smell like he got sprayed by a skunk, but Lance might care. After he showered he went into his pantry and found some dried lavender. He took a few springs and rubbed it on his neck, arms, and chest. Now he smelled a little nicer.

Then it came to his clothes. All his clothes were second hand and had stains or holes in them. Again he wanted to find something kind of nice. He looked through his cupboard and found three pairs of pants that were kind of suitable. However each one had something wrong with it; rips in the knees, grass stains, and the hems we completely destroyed. His shirts didn’t fare much better. Keith sighed in disappointment and put on the pants with the grass stains and the heavy metal band shirt with the grease stain. 

After that he had to figure out what he was doing with his hair. Leave it out or tie it up. It was fine either way, but he didn’t know what would look better. He only really tied his hair back when he needed to do work so it wouldn’t get in his face. He experimented in his mirror a little He pulled his hair up into a high ponytail, and then let it fall and put it into a low ponytail. Was it too much? Was he trying to hard?

Why was he even trying in the first place? He really didn’t have a need to. It was like he was trying to impress someone. Who was he even going to impress? No one in his pack gave a shit. Shiro didn’t give a shit. Lance probably wouldn’t care either, but the dumbass would probably dress up a little and try to look nice and he’d stand out and be all uncomfortable and stuff. Keith didn’t want Lance to feel unwelcome because he...

Keith’s eyes went wide with shock. Shiro was right. He liked Lance. He like-liked him. He wanted to impress him and make him feel like part of the pack. This was… Keith didn’t know how to feel about this. Liking Lance was… What was he meant to do now? How could he even look at Lance now that he realised that he liked him? Lance wouldn’t like him back anyway. He bit him and cursed him after all. How could Lance ever feel something for him romantically?

A sudden knock at his door made Keith yelp out in surprise. Was that Lance? He couldn’t face Lance now. Maybe he could pretend that he wasn’t home? No they would have heard him yelp. Plus his lights were on. Shit.

He took a deep breath and slowly opened the door. He was instantly relieved when he saw it was Shiro. He smiled at the young werewolf. “Hey Keith. What’s going on wi-?” Before he could finish his sentence Keith grabbed him and pulled him inside.

“I fucked up!”

Shiro was a little stunned and just kind of stood there as Keith stared at him with wide eyes. “Okay? Care to explain?”

“I caught feelings for Lance.”

“Oh, so you decided that you like-like him?”

“Yes… I don’t like it. Make it stop.”

Shiro sighed and patted Keith’s head. “Calm down Keith. You’re just having a bit of a gay panic attack. Just take a deep breath and calm down.”

“Don’t care. Make these feelings stop.”

“Keith, calm down. Your feelings are perfectly normal and… Did you rub yourself in lavender? Is this your attempt at using some kind of natural cologne?”

“... That is beside the point!” Whined Keith.

Shiro chuckled and had a playful look in his eyes. “You know, asking Lance to come to the Lunar solstice and all that… It almost sounds like a date.”

Keith whimpered a little as he realised that Shiro was right. “Oh my god… This is a date… I asked Lance out on a date…” He walked over to his couch and lied down. “I asked Lance out on a date. I asked him on a date… Oh fuck… Oh shit he said yes! He agreed to go out with me! But I didn’t say this was a date! This isn’t a date! Right? Oh fuck… Fuck… Shiro, help me...”

The older man sighed and gently patted Keith’s head. “Okay… Let’s start with your hair. It’ll look nicer if you do it up like this.” Shiro helped Keith do up his hair and grinned. “There. You look good.”

“Thanks…” Keith nervously tugged at the hem of his shirt. “Hey, can you go and meet up with Lance and bring him over? I need some time to collect myself before I see him…”

“Sure. Do I need to go now?”

“Yeah, that’s probably for the best… he’s going to get lost otherwise…”

“Okay.” He patted Keith’s back and headed out. When he was gone Keith quietly screamed into a pillow. This was the worst.

***

Lance grinned when he saw Shiro. It was nice to see someone who wasn’t part of the pack going to this thing. Shiro was happy to see him and they walked to Keith’s place. They talked a little about the weather and how things were going in the town.

When they got to Keith’s place he opened up the door and to say Lance liked what he saw was an understatement. Keith looked hot. He smiled kind of nervously at them and pulled on his jacket. “You guys ready to go?”

“Yep.” Said Lance with a grin.

Keith nodded and lead them to Thace’s place. He was quiet for the most part so Lance struck up a conversation with Shiro. “So, how is it going to these things as a human?”

“It’s fine.” He said. “It’s was a little strange last year since it was during a run it was a little hard to talk to anyone. I stayed with Keith for the most part.”

“Bet he appreciated that.”

“Well I carried him for most of the night so he didn’t have to walk.”

“Aw, wished someone would be able to carry me when I’m a werewolf.” Whined Lance. “But I’m too big… I was always jealous of my sister’s dog. She babied that thing. All he’d have to do is raise one of his paws and she’d be carrying him around like his legs were broken.”

When they got to Thace’s place many werewolves were already there. Several were sitting by the fire pit with a trailer full of meat ready to cook. A few had some banged up looking barrels propped up on shaky looking plastic tables. Then there were a few setting up some weird looking contraption made of so many pulleys and weights.

Krolia walked up to them with a cup of something that smelled like fruity petrol in her hand. “Hey there boys. Glad you could make it.” She gave Keith a one armed hug, shook Shiro’s hand, and awkwardly couldn’t decide if she wanted to hug or shake Lance’s hand. They somehow ended up hugging. “Everyone should be here soon. Don’t drink too much though. This is Antok’s special blend. It’s practically ethanol with cordial mixed with it.”

“Noted.” Muttered Keith.

Shiro chuckled. “Okay. Well I’m going to talk to Kolivan. You two stay out of trouble.”

“I promise nothing.” Said Keith.

The olderman just shook his head and walked off while Krolia went to talk to everyone else by the kegs. Lance smiled and looked around at everything. This seemed nice. Everyone here seemed to be okay with him being there. He felt his tailbone tingling again.

Keith nudged his arm. “Hey… So, you want to get something to eat?”

“Sure.”

They walked over to the trailer and Lance watched as Keith grabbed one of several sticks next to the trailer and started to look through the meat. “What do you fancy? Deer, rabbit, some kind of bird? I think there’s a raccoon and possum in here somewhere.”

“Raccoon?”

Keith shrugged. “You get what you’re given.”

“I think I’ll stick to deer.”

Keith nodded and took his knife out of his belt and started to cut off a few chunks of meat off the rump of the deer carcass and impaled them on one of the sticks. He handed it over to Lance. “Here. you can go and cook it on the fire. I’ll be over in a bit.”

“Sure.” Lance walked over to the fire and started to cook his food. A few other werewolves were doing the same as him. Antok was just holding a deer leg in the fire like the beast he was. It was kind of scary how little he cared about the hair on his hand getting singed.

He looked over at Lance and nodded. “Bambi.”

“Antok… Um, thanks for letting me come here. I know I’m not part of the pack or anything but-”

“Think nothing of it.” He said calmly. “You’re a werewolf. Just enjoy the Lunar solstice with us.”

Lance smiled a little. “Thanks.”

Keith walked over to Lance and put his meat in the fire. It looked like he had a few legs of something. “... What’s that?” Asked Lance.

“Raccoon legs.” Siad Keith. “I fucking hate raccoons. They are assholes.”

Lance gave Keith a confused look. “I feel there is a story here that I don’t know about.”

Antok chuckled a little. “When Keith was a pup, raccoons tended to give him trouble. Pulling his tail, jumping out and scaring him. The usual.”

Keith went red. “Raccoons are assholes.”

“Only to you pup.” Said Antok. “... Are you going to test your strength tonight?”

“Maybe…”

Lance frowned a little. “Test your strength?”

Antok nodded and pointed over at the pulley contraption that was being set up. “We play a few different games here. One of the best is the strength test. Firstly, you need to be a werewolf, so we have some Full-moon people need to take. You then grab the rope in your mouth and pull on the rope and pull on it as far as you can. A werewolf’s strength comes from their jaw strength. We also have a tug-of-war.”

“Oh cool.” Lance wasn’t sure if he’d have to join in or if he could just watch. But it sounded like fun.

Keith lightly nudged lance and gestured over to some logs set up for people to sit on. They walked over and Keith brushed off the small amount of snow that had settled on it.

“Such a gentleman.” Teased Lance as he sat down.

Keith blushed a little and ate his raccoon.

Lance couldn’t help but smile. Keith was cute when he blushed. They were quiet while they ate which gave Lance a chance to look around at everyone turning up. Some of them were bringing more meat and dropping it on the trailer. Two werewolves carried in a bear and just started to carve it up in the snow.

Some other werewolves were pouring something into the snow and rolling it up on sticks. Was that the thing Keith had talked about earlier? Keith followed his gaze. “... Do you want to try that?”

“Can we?”

“Yeah sure.” Keith finished his food and tossed the stick and bones into the fire. Lance quickly finished his food and did the same. They walked over to where the werewolves were. One of them passed Keith a jug. Lance watched as Keith drew a few lines in the snow with his finger and poured the liquid into the lines. After a few seconds Keith stabbed it with a stick and rolled it up to it looked like a ball of amber goo on a stick. He handed it to Lance. “Here.”

Lance took it and ate it. It was cold, but with the heat of his mouth it melted in seconds until it was back to being pure maple syrup in his mouth. “Oh!”

Keith grinned. “You like that?”

“This is really good. I’m guessing you can only have this in Winter?”

“Yep. Enjoy it while you can.”

Once everyone had gathered Antok howled which made everyone howl and turn to him. The taller werewolf gestured to Kolivan. Everyone instantly paid attention to the pack leader. The man looked as stoic as ever.

“Welcome.” He said. “Tonight we celebrate the Lunar solstice. Eat, drink, and be merry. Just stay away from the town. We all remember what happened last year… Verk. We don’t need to bail anyone else out of jail…” 

“... What did Verk do last year?” Whispered Lance.

“He got pissed and decided it was a good idea to take a shit on a police car.” Whispered Keith.

“...” Lance face palmed.

“Enjoy the night.” Said Kolivan. When his speech was over everyone went back to partying.

At some point Lance found himself at the keg and drinking something that made him gag. Keith was also drinking, but he seemed to be doing much better. By the time he got a little tipsy someone had hooked up a speaker to a car battery or something and started blasting some old pub rock out. It was quickly turning into a real party, but with werewolves. Very drunk werewolves.

Lance didn’t know how much time had passed but someone cracked open a jar of Full-moon and people started turning into werewolves. When there were enough werewolves they started to gather around the weird machine.

He watched as a werewolf grabbed hold of the rope in their mouth and started to drag it back. Once they got a certain distance everyone else started to pile on weights while everyone else was drunkenly hooting and howling. When they couldn’t lift it any further they dropped it any everyone cheered louder.

A few more werewolves had a go before someone pushed Shiro forward. “Hunter!” They chanted. “Hunter! Hunter! Hunter!”

Shiro reluctantly grabbed the rope but didn’t put it in his mouth. Everyone cheered when he started to pull on it. He couldn’t pull as much as some of the other werewolves, but he was still very strong. Everyone howled.

Then someone lightly shoved Lance forward. “Bambi’s next! Bambi! Bambi! Bambi!”

“Wait what?” He looked over at Keith. 

His face was flushed red from the alcohol. “Eh, I can do it wit’ ooo.” He slurred.

Someone gave Lance and Keith, a small amount of Full-moon. Lance watched as a very sloshed Pomeranian jumped up to grab the rope, but stayed dangling in the air. He wiggled his legs around in the air like it would help him get down. Lance chuckled and went over to him. He grabbed hold of the rope and started to pull. Everyone cheered them on until they couldn’t pull on it anymore.

When they were done, someone lead them over to the fire and put them in a blanket. “Stay there till you guys change back.” They said. You guys only had a little anyway so you should be back to normal in an hour or two.”

_“Okay.”_ Said Lance as he happily snuggled around Keith. He was small and fluffy and warm. He happily snuggled Keith and shoved his nose into Keith’s ear.

Keith whined and shoved his paw into Lance’s mouth. _“Shtaaaaaaap.”_ He slurred.

Lance giggled and nuzzled him some more. _“Don’t wanna. You’re a cute werewolf. So fluffy.”_

_“Imma bite you ya dumb ass.”_

_“You already did.”_ Before Lance could help himself he licked Keith’s face. His tongue practically covered his entire face and covered the pomerainian’s face completely in slobber.

Keith stared up at him with wide eyes. _“The fuck Lance? Why did you lick me? I don’t have food on my face damn it!”_ He whined.

Lance giggled and happily wagged his tail. _“I can’t tell. Your face is all black and fluffy. You might have food on your face but I can’t tell.”_ He licked his face again.

Keith whined and looked around the fire until he spotted someone he recognised. _“Ulaz! Lance licked me!_

The man looked over at the two of them and gave Keith a confused look. “Then lick him back?”

Keith huffed and looked up at Lance. _“Bring your face down here you asshole.”_

Lance chuckled in amusement and rested his head against the ground and continued to wag his tail. _“Like this?”_

Keith licked Lance’s nose and huffed. _“There. Fuck you.”_

_“You’re funny.”_ Lance nuzzled him some more and kept wagging his tail. Keith huffed some more and leaned into Lance. 

After a minute or two Lance felt something repeatedly and rhythmically bumping up against his chest. It took Lance’s alcohol drenched mind to realise that it was Keith. Keith was wagging his tail up against him. That just made Lance happier and he started wagging his tail even more than before. Keith liked him. Keith liked being around him and was happy enough to wag his tail. He hadn’t seen Keith wag his tail before. Such a little action made him so happy.

_“Hey Keith?”_

_“Hmm?”_

_“Thanks for asking me out here. I’m having a really good time. Being a werewolf is fun.”_

Keith smiled and nuzzled him. _“Good. You’re a werewolf after all.”_

Lance wagged his tail even more now. He’s probably end up hurting himself. _“Yeah… Did you notice I didn’t stumble around at all?”_

_“Yeah. Who would have thought all you needed was to get hammered to walk straight?”_

Lance rolled his eyes and licked him again. _“Ah, shut up you.”_

Keith whined and buried his head under Lance’s arm. _“Staaaaaaaaap.”_

Lance giggled again and was just content to keep himself curled around Keith protectively while watching a group of very drunk werewolves play a game of tug-of-war. This Lunar solstice was fun. Everyone was so friendly. He really liked being a werewolf.


	19. Hungover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was fun to write. The werewolf boys are hungover and dumb. Mostly dumb. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

The day after the Lunar solstice Keith woke up in his bed with his clothes haphazardly put back on. He kind of blacked out while he was a pomeranian. Antok’s booze was really fucking strong. He didn’t know if he stumbled back home or if Shiro or Krolia tossed him back into his bed while he was pissed.

He closed his eyes and attempted to sit up when he realised there was something heavy laying across him. Tan skin, brown hair. Yep, it was Lance. He too was haphazardly dressed, but he was out like a light.

“...” Keith reached out and lightly touched his hair. Lance didn’t stir, so Keith continued to gently pat his hair. It was so soft and fluffy. How did he get his hair to do that? Townies had much better shampoo then he could get. 

He didn’t remember much about what happened that night after getting as wasted as he did. He highly doubted they did anything really weird. They were both clothed now and they physically couldn’t fuck in there werewolf forms anyway. At least not without some serious thought and consideration for how physically small Keith was compared to Lance… At least when they were werewolves. It was a more level playing field when they were people.

After a few more minutes just laying there and enjoying the warmth from Lance’s body, Keith carefully moved Lance off himself and decided to actually get some work done. Even if it felt like someone was trying to stab him in the back of the head with an icepick. Damn hangover.

Keith growled a little and quickly changed his clothes before quickly grabbing something to eat and gathered some stuff. Before he left he checked on Lance one more time. That perfect, beautiful man was still there. Still sleeping peacefully. Maybe he’d still be out of it when he came back? He hoped so. Lance was… Why did he have to look so nice?

He shook his head and made his way to the Holt’s veterinary clinic. Pidge was sitting there eating some kind of bacon muffin and drinking coffee from a cup much larger than her head. He gave him a slight nod as she noisily slurped it. It was just the two of them standing there. 

“Morning.” She said. “You look like shit.”

“I have a hangover.” Grumbled Keith. “Antok’s alcohol is intense. I don’t think I finished the one cup I poured myself.”

“Fuck man. That’s intense.”

“Tell me about it.” He put the rabbit jerky on the counter. “Pay up. I need to buy something deep fried and smothered in lard.”

“Using a greasy breakfast to cure your hangover?”

“Yes.”

“Good luck to you.” She handed him his money and happily poured the jerky onto a jar. She grabbed a couple for herself.

“... You know, I can bring you some rabbit jerky if you like. You don’t have to do that.”

“You don’t have to bring it to little ol’ me.” She said. She slurped her coffee again. “So, how was last night?”

“Huh?”

“Lance said you two were gonna do some bonfire thing last night. I’m guessing he’s passed out and dead to the world back at your place?”

Keith nodded. “Yeah. Lance is still sleeping.”

“Cool. Well, make sure he wanders back home safe today. Allura needs him back at work tomorrow.” She turned her attention back to her computer and quickly started typing away on the keyboard. He had no idea what she was doing when she did that.

“Can do… Hey Pidge?”

She raised an eyebrow and looked up at him. “Yep?”

“... So you know Lance pretty well, right?”

“Allegedly.”

Pidge just had to make things difficult. “Right… Anyway, Lance likes guys.”

“He is bisexual.”

“Anyway, what kind of guys does Lance like…”

Pidge’s eyebrows vanished behind her fringe. “Oh? Do you like him or something?”

Keith blushed and shrugged. “Kind of… But you know. There’s a bit of a disconnect between us since he’s a townie and I’m a bush person… So like… Does he have a type?”

She smirked playfully at him. “Oh? You like Lance and you want to know if you have a chance with him?” Keith nodded and looked down at his feet. He didn’t know what she would say. Maybe she would just shoot him down and tell him that Lance might be bi, but he likes guys that know how to use the internet or have a house with wifi. Maybe he just prefers girls over guys? “Are you an abusive asshole?” She asked.

“Huh? What? No? I don’t think so?”

Pidge nodded. “Okay. That’s good. Lance has always had a thing for boys with dark hair. You good with animals? Because Lance likes dogs.”

“... I have heard I am good with dogs.”

“Good.” She then went back to typing.

“... Pidge?”

“You still here?”

“I don’t know what to do.”

She gave him a confused look. “What do you mean you don’t know what to do? You never asked someone out before?” Keith shook his head. “Seriously?”

“Well I’ve never fallen in love with someone before so I-”

“Wait, love?” Asked Pidge in shock. 

Keith was worried he said something wrong. “Yes?”

Pidge exhaled and leaned back in her seat. “Oh boy… How long has this been going on?”

He shrugged. “I’ve liked him for a while, but I kind of just realised it yesterday… Winter has been kind of weird for me. So much running around and trying to keep warm.” That and he needed to teach Lance how to be a werewolf. “I just haven’t been able to think of my feelings until yesterday… I really think I love him… He’s not gonna like me though, is he?”

Pidge frowned and drank more of her coffee. “Okay, that was a lot to dump on me before nine in the morning.”

“... Sorry. I’ll just go now.”

She shook her head. “Dude, calm down. I’m pretty sure Lance likes you. If you like him just let him know. Lance is a really good guy. He’ll at least let you down gently if he doesn’t like you that way.”

Keith nodded a little. “Okay… Thanks Pidge.” He left the clinic, but still wasn’t sure if he should say anything to Lance. They might be werewolves, but Lance wasn’t born into the pack nor did he ask to join.

***

A few minutes after the Keith had left, Lance woke up. He was groggy and ran his fingers over the warm spot Keith left when he exited the bed. It sucked that he ran off, but he probably had things to do. He wanted Keith to stay. He wanted to keep holding him. Like he did when he was a pomeranian.

He was small, cute, and so soft. It might have just been the cold but Keith practically buried himself into Lance’s chest. It felt nice to have him there. Even when he randomly kicked him or headbutted him. It was adorable.

Lance knew he hadn’t stopped wagging his tail the whole night. He loved snuggling up against Keith. He smelled like lavender and earth. He couldn’t help nuzzling him over and over again. No one seemed to be upset with what he was doing or even bothered trying to interact with them, and Keith nuzzled him back a few times too.

But now he was back at Keith’s place and in his bed. He rolled onto his stomach and breathed in his scent. Was it creepy? He couldn’t help it. Keith’s natural scent was comforting to him. Keith wasn’t just some adorable werewolf. He was kind, reliable, and dependable. He was… Keith was amazing. 

There was a slight knock at the door before it swung open. “Hello?” Called Shiro. “You up yet Keith? Lance?”

“In here…” Called Lance as his head started to throb a little.

Shiro walked into the bedroom with a paper bag full of hot, greasy breakfast food and coffee. He offered the bag to Lance who happily took it and dug into an egg and bacon muffin smothered in melted butter. It was gone in a couple of bites.

“Hungry?”

“Hungover.” Said Lance. He sat up and readjusted his shirt. “So… How did I end up here?”

“You and Keith passed out so Krolia and I carried you two back here.” Said Shiro. “You two managed to transform on the way back so we had to redress you two so you didn’t freeze and we tossed you two into bed.”

“Ah… Okay… Can I have the rest of this food?”

Shiro nodded. “Go ahead. If Keith is out he can get his own food.”

“Thanks.” Lance quickly shoved three more breakfast rolls down his throat while Shiro awkwardly watched. “... Did you want some?”

Shiro shook his head. “Nah, you kind of just remind me of a dog. Like, you eat like a dog.”

“... Werewolf thing?”

The older man chuckled. “Probably. Enjoy your first werewolf holiday?”

“Yeah. It was fun… It was nice to snuggle up with Keith…”

“Snuggle?”

Lance went red. “I um… I… Well what would you call it?”

He shrugged. “Snuggling sounds about right. Didn’t think you would call it that. Maybe if you were with a girl…”

Lance laughed nervously and looked away. “Yeah… I guess? I mean, I’d call it the same thing if it was a guy or girl…”

“Oh?”

“Yeah…”

“So… Bisexual?”

“Yep.”

“Gay.”

“Huh?”

“I’m gay.” Said Shiro calmly.

“Oh, like Keith?”

“Yep.” 

“Oh… So it isn’t weird if I say that you’re cute?”

Shiro looked surprised for a moment before he laughed. “I have been called a lot of things, rugged, hot, daddy, but not cute.”

“What? No way. A guy like you is totally cute.” Said Lance. “How do you not have a boyfriend?”

Shiro shrugged. "Guess I just haven’t met the one yet… Speaking of the one, you and Keith seemed to be getting super friendly last night.”

Lance went bright red. “W-what did I do?”

Shiro took out his phone and showed Lance a video he took of last night. The two werewolves were laying by the fire. Lance had curled tightly around Keith who looked very content being where he was. Lance couldn’t hear what they were saying in the video over the sound of the fire, music, and drunken werewolves stumbling around. But it looked like the two of them were talking. Lance then licked Keith and Keith shook his head. 

Suddenly Lance leaned forward just as Keith moved his head forwards. Keith’s head ended up inside Lance’s mouth for a good ten seconds as they both froze in shock. Keith eventually pulled his head out and bit Lance’s ear. Lance whined loudly and played dead while Keith very drunkenly tried to climb on top of him and bark. It would have been more concerning if it wasn’t for the fact they were both wagging their tails.

“... And Kolivan was okay with you recording that?”

“As long as I don’t share it with anyone not from the pack.” Said Shiro. “Krolia thought it was funny when I showed her.”

“Sounds like she would… Did anything else happen?”

Shiro shrugged. “Not really. Keith fell off you seconds I stopped recording and according to Krolia you two were having a deep conversation about hating on tourists, pissing on police cars, and general anarchy. You two were apparently howling anarchy over and over again when Krolia and I started carrying you guys home.”

Lance groaned and shook his head. “That is so embarrassing… Fuck… I didn’t do anything else stupid did I?”

“Not that I know of… Though it did kind of sound like you were trying to howl Bohemian Rhapsody for a while.” 

“... Fuck.” Lance wanted to die. On one hand he hadn’t done anything really weird, but it was still weird. Hopefully Keith didn’t remember what happened. That would suck. Keith would be so embarrassed by him. Everyone else was probably embarrassed by him. Like seriously, what the hell? Moonshine was really powerful stuff.

The door opened up and Keith walked in. He too had a bag of food and coffee. He was surprised to see Shiro in his cabin. “Hey Shiro. What are you doing here?”

Shiro smiled kindly at him. “Hey man, just trying to be the good guy and making sure you two didn’t die of alcohol poisoning. I came baring breakfast rolls and coffee.”

“... I went out to get that stuff though.”

“Awesome!” Said Lance. “More food!”

Hearing Lance say that made Keith smile a little. “You want to join us for breakfast?” He asked Shiro.

Shiro shrugged. “Sure. You two probably won’t be able to eat that much greasy crap anyway.” The trio sat down around Keith’s small dining room table and started to eat. As this happened Lance couldn’t help but glance over at Shiro to see him smile a little and shake his head. “You both eat like animals…”

“Humans are animals.” Said Keith. “Complete a basic high school biology class. We’re part of the animal kingdom.”

Shiro rolled his eyes and drank his coffee. “Don’t be a smart ass.”

Keith rolled his eyes right back and kept eating. As he ate, Lance glanced over at him. Keith had some sauce on his cheek. It reminded Lance a little of his conversation he had with Keith when he first licked his face. Something about him not knowing if Keith had food on his face of not because his fur was black. Would he get upset if he tried to wipe it off his face? He had a feeling Keith might deck him if that was the case. 

Lance had to resign himself to trying to eat more breakfast sandwiches then Keith. Why? To assert dominance of course. The only true way to assert dominance was to eat more than someone else. That was the werewolf way… At least it would be until either someone corrected him, or he ate so much he became sick.


	20. Dire wolf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are gonna get interesting on the mountain... Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Things were weird. Lance couldn’t quite put his paw on it but something was strange at the resort. It wasn’t like something had gone off in the shop. No spoiled milk or any food going mouldy. It was strange, but he just got on with everything. He greeted people and got them their coffee. All the while he just felt there was something weird going on. Maybe it was his wolf instincts or something? Make Antok’s alcohol just really fucked you over for days on end? He didn’t know.

It was all just a weird feeling until two people happened to walk into the shop. A man with a similar skin tone to himself wearing glasses, and a man with much darker skin. They were talking to each other and didn’t seem to have accents, so they weren’t from another country.

Even though they gave Lance a weird feeling he smiled at them anyway. “Hey there. Haven’t seen you guys around here before. Just get here?”

The darker skinned man smiled brightly at him. “Yeah. We arrived a few hours ago. We’re from the next state over. You’re a local?”

Lance grinned. “Yep. I live in Garrison. If you have some time I highly suggest going down to the Sunshine bakery. It’s family owned and they make some of the best baked goods.”

“Nice.” The lightly nudged their companion who was staring at the board. “What are you getting Adam?”

“Large black. No sugar.”

Lance nodded and quickly wrote Adam’s name on a cup. “Awesome, and for you sir?”

“Regular latte, skim milk. Oh, and it’s Curtis.”

“Got it.” Lance wrote down his name. “Okay, take a seat and I’ll call out your names.” The two men went and took a seat while Lance made their drinks. He called them over when it was done and Adam came over. He grabbed their coffees and Lance got that weird feeling again. 

His eyes locked with Adam for a few seconds and Lance felt something cold run through him. Lance didn’t know why, but he really didn’t like him. Adam unsettled him. Without thinking Lance let out a tiny whimper. The second he did Adam’s eyebrows shot up his forehead so fast they could have receded into his hairline. That’s how shocked he was. He then quickly went back to his table and talked with Curtis in hushed tones.

Lance felt very weird about this and ducked into the backroom. One of his co-workers took over while he made a call. He hoped they would pick up. It took five rings before they picked up.

_“You better be dead or dying.”_ Growled Keith.

“... If I was dead why would I be calling you?”

_“... Right. What do you want?”_

“Um… I know this is really weird, but can you come and walk me to my car tonight?”

Keith made an annoyed sound. _“Why? We’re not doing werewolf stuff tonight.”_

“I know but…” Lance looked back out the front. Curtis and Adam were still there. He knew he was being childish, but there was this weird primal fear building up inside him and he didn’t understand why. “S-sorry… Don’t worry about it. You’re busy.”

_“What? No I…”_ Keith sighed. _“Sorry. I’m frustrated. Remember that squirrel from the other day? Like from the graveyard?”_

“Yeah?”

_“I found it, tracked the fucker down and it shook a bunch of snow off a branch and onto me. Fucker.”_

Lance couldn’t help but laugh at that, even if it sounded a little forced. “Oh really?”

_“Yeah.”_ He was quiet for a moment. _“You think Kolivan would be pissed off at me if I cut down the tree?”_

“Probably…”

_“... Why do you need me to walk you to your car?”_

“It’s stupid. Don’t worry about it. You have a squirrel to get revenge on.”

_“Lance, you know I told you people don’t call me unless it’s serious, and you’ve respected it. Why do you need me to walk you to your car? Did someone threaten you at work?”_

“... No I just… It’s stupid.” He muttered. “Look, it’s dumb but these people came in and I just… They gave me a weird feeling. Weird enough to make me whimper when one of them got close.” Keith was quiet for an abnormal amount of time. “Keith?”

_“What time do you get off work?”_

“Three.”

_“I’ll be there. Stay inside until I get there. Don’t go with anyone else. Understand?”_

“Yeah…”

_“And Lance?”_

“Yeah?”

_“It’ll be okay. I’ll be there.”_

“Thanks Keith… I really appreciate it.” Lance hung up and tried to go back to work. Though he did stay in the back of the shop until Adam and Curtis were gone. Even though they were gone he still felt something was really wrong with everything. He didn’t like it. He found himself rearranging the supplies in the backroom until his shift was up.

***

Keith was about twenty minutes late. That squirrel was an asshole. But as much as he hated the wildlife, he was more concerned with Lance. He didn’t know what was freaking him out so much that he would start whimpering. He didn’t think anything besides the slight tailbone tingling had bled over to Lance’s normal human life.

He walked through the parking lot and past some of the shops. He got a few odd stares from tourists that saw him. This was why Keith usually stuck to the back alleys where the dumpsters were. Though he did find something odd. There was a weird smell at the resort and he didn’t like it.

He walked into Lance’s shop and saw the man sitting at a table. He immediately perked up when he saw him. “Keith!”

Keith smiled at him. Both relieved and amused that Lance was excited to see him. They left the shop and Lance happily followed after Keith like a puppy. He was talking about his day while avoiding the people that made him call in the first place. He’d mention it when he was good and ready.

They got to the parking lot and Lance patted himself down in search of his keys. “Where did I put them…”

“Did you leave them back at the shop?”

“No.” Huffed Lance. “I have them okay? I just-” The wind changed and both of them suddenly froze. There was something wrong. Something very wrong. Lance suddenly yelped and Keith followed his gaze. Two men were walking over to them. “Them…” Whimpered Lance. “Curtis and Adam.”

Keith immediately understood why Lance was freaking out. He was freaking out a little too, but unlike Lance, Keith knew why he was uneasy. He growled and bared his fangs. “Get the fuck off our mountain.”

The man wearing glasses rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Really? We come all the way out of state for this? Anyway, I think introductions are in order. I am Adam, and this is Curtis.”

Curtis waved. “Hi.”

“We’re werewolves from the next state over. We were honestly just looking for some down time here before we went and looked for your pack leader.” Said Adam calmly. “We didn’t mean to scare a pup. It was all coincidence.”

“... Not a pup.” Muttered Lance.

Keith didn’t trust them at all. “Oh yeah? What kind of werewolves are you? You don’t smell like our kind.”

“We’re dire lupine.” Said Curtis. He smiled warmly at them. “Look we aren’t looking for trouble. Our pack is kind of dying out and we’ve heard some good things about some of the packs in this area. If your pack leader wants us off the mountain we’ll go. Just let them know we’d like to talk. Okay?”

“... Get in the car.” Keith growled to Lance. “Get in the car now.”

“Huh? But-”

“NOW!”

Lance whimpered and quickly got into the car. Keith continued to maintain eye contact with the two of them as he backed away and got into the car with Lance. As soon as he was in Lance quickly drove away. It took them a few minutes before Lance spoke up.

“Dire lupine?”

“Yeah…” Muttered Keith. “There are different kinds of werewolves. The main two branches are anthro and dire. The pack on mount Altea is anthro. They walk on their back legs, have thumbs and generally have more human characteristics. A lot of the packs around here are anthro. The dire ones look like wolves, but twice their size with much more deadly fangs and claws.”

“So are domestics classified as dire?”

Keith shook his head. “No. Domestic werewolves are what happens when a werewolf and a human have a baby. We’re slightly different. We can technically fit into either pack.”

“... Are they bad?”

“What? No. They… They just aren’t part of our pack.” Said Keith. “They smell weird. It’s just instinct… They don’t seem bad but I’m not taking chances with a fucking dire wolf. They are fucking strong even when in human form.”

“... Really?”

“Yeah. Anthro’s can use thumbs when they are werewolves and dire’s can beat the shit out of things when human. It’s a trade off.”

“... Right.”

When they got safely back to Lance’s place Keith called Shiro to give him a description of the two dire wolves on their mountain. He then called Kolivan to let him know about the situation. While he was doing this Lance was nervously sitting on his couch looking like a wreck. It hurt Keith to see how freaked out Lance was getting when he interacted with wolves outside of the pack.

He sat next to Lance and pulled him into a hug. “It’s okay now Lance. They aren’t going to do anything. Not on this mountain.”

“They know where I work.”

“Lance, you’ve probably served hundred of werewolves before. What’s different now?”

“I am a werewolf and strange werewolves not from my pack freak me out. Okay?”

Keith sighed a little and rubbed his back. “Yeah I get it. I freaked out a few times when I first met werewolves from other… Wait, your pack?”

“...” Lance went bright red and he started to back peddle. “L-look. I know I’m not like officially part of your pack, but you guys have been so nice to me and I’m not trying to say I’m part of your pack, I know I’m not. But you guys are the only werewolves I know and you’ve helped me so much and I… I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

Keith put his hands on Lance’s shoulders and gave him a serious look. “Lance… Do you want to be part of our pack? You don’t have to join us. You’re domestic. You can live a relatively normal life. It’s not that hard for you.” While hearing Lance say that excited Keith a little, he needed to make sure that Lance was serious. “If you join the pack you’re going to have to follow Kolivan’s rules.”

“I know… Would Kolivan even let me join the pack?” Asked Lance quietly. “I wasn’t born a werewolf and I’m a domestic. Isn’t that both bad?”

“...” Keith sighed and hugged Lance again. He knew he wasn’t that good at comforting people, but he hoped that Lance was feeling okay now. Maybe. “Being domestic isn’t bad. Not being born a werewolf isn’t bad. It happens… Kolivan will let you into the pack if you ask. Probably won’t make it official until Spring though.”

“Huh? Why?”

“That’s when we let new people into the pack.” Keith felt like he should probably not mention that it was also during their fertility festival since they technically would be welcoming new members in a few months anyway. “So when we next see Koivan we can talk to him about it? Maybe during the next run?”

“Yeah… Sounds good.”

***

When Kolivn heard about the dire wolves he immediately sprung into action and went to the resort. He hung around the parking lot He could still smell them around. He didn’t like it. He felt like these wolves had crossed the line. They confronted Lance and Keith. They were just domestic werewolves.

His own presence just being there was enough to attract the dire werewolves over. There was a brief introduction between them, but Kolivan was still pissed. “Why are you here?”

“Half for the skiing and half to talk to you.” Said Curtis. 

Adam rolled his eyes and elbowed Curtis in the ribs. “Look, we weren’t sure that this mountain was your mountain. We knew it was around here and thought at least coming to the ski resort we could have some kind of cover if people asked us what we were doing. We didn’t mean to confront the pups in your pack… They were just recently turned, yes?”

“They are domestics.” Corrected Kolivan.

“We have a few of those in our group too.” Said Curtis. “Three German shepherds, a doberman, and a family of beagles. We’re a good mix.”

“How many in your group?”

Adam shrugged. “Not including pups? Around thirty.”

“That’s a good number.”

“Yes, but we’re starting to encounter some problems…”

“Gene pool drying up?” Asked Kolivan.

Curtis nodded. “Yeah. We’ve pretty much gone to every pack in our state. A few of us have gone to other packs in neighbouring states to see if any werewolves would be interested in coming to our state, or even a few werewolves from our pack coming over here.”

Koliva frowned a little as he thought this over. The closest packs around them no longer wanted to mix with them since they’ve been doing that for generations. Out of state might be the way to go unless they go ahead and make more domestics or start biting people.

Mass bitings were ways that some very old packs used to expand their numbers. Something that hadn’t been done since the mid seventeenth century. It was a practice most modern werewolves detested. Kolivan detested it with a passion. Biting someone and making them a werewolf was a life changing decision. Not something to be taken lightly. Which was honestly why he was still a little pissed off at Keith for what he did to Lance. At least Lance was taking everything in his stride.

“Look, there is a run in two days. Two days from now I will meet you here before dark so I can take you to where we meet. You can plead your case to everyone and we can vote on it.”

“Sounds fair to me.” Said Curtis. “Thanks for not just kicking us off the mountain right away.”

“Our pack does try to be diplomatic… By the way, I have a warning for you two.” Said Kolivan. “We have a hunter on the mountain. A man named Shiro. We are on peaceful terms with him. He’s hard to miss.”

“Thanks for the heads up.” Said Curtis.

Adam chuckled in amusement. “Huh, haven’t seen a hunter since I was a pup. Should be interesting.”

Curtis shook his head. “Come on Adam. Don’t be an ass. Hunter’s are not like other dire wolves. You can’t just screw around with them.”

Kolivan sighed. “Look, stay in the town or at the resort until I come to take you to the meeting. If you cross into our territory before then I won’t be held responsible for my pack defending our territory.”

“Fair enough.” Said Curtis. “I want to go skiing anyway. Until the full moon?”

“Until the full moon.” The werewolves parted ways. Kolivan was going to have to inform the council of their sudden appearance on the mountain along with informing Shiro, that was unless Keith already told him about it. He probably did, but it wouldn’t hurt to inform him of the new arrivals too. Springtime on the mountain was going to be interesting.


	21. Proposal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for more werewolf shenanigans. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Lance was nervous as hell when the next run happened. Curtis and Adam were there and they honestly looked like wolves, but bigger. Curtis’s coat was a dark chocolate colour while Adam’s coat was a lot lighter and he had markings under his eyes that looked similar to glasses. It was kind of cute, apart from the fact they were terrifying looking and Lance was pretty sure they could kill him if he looked at them weird.

Kolivan let them pitch their idea about some people moving to their pack while some others move here for a few months. _“It’s just an idea. You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”_ Said Curtis. _“Even if you just want to see how other packs work we can accommodate for that.”_

_“Several men and women of various ages from our pack are interested in finding a significant other.”_ Said Adam. _“We’re literally just here to see if your pack would be interested… But we should let you know our pack is made up of dire werewolves and domestics. We don’t have any anthro members if that changes anything.”_

There was a little murmuring among the werewolves before Kolivan spoke up again. _“You don’t have to decide now. Just keep it in the back of your mind. They will be leaving in about three weeks. So please think about it. Okay? Okay, everyone go off and enjoy your run.”_

Everyone quickly scattered and Keith carefully nudged Lance away from the dire werewolves and back towards his cabin. Lance stayed close to Keith while quickly glancing over them. He was still scared of them. They smelled funny and he didn’t like them. 

He looked down at Keith as they walked and he had to wonder if Keith would eventually take them up on his offer. Sure Keith was gay so he wouldn’t be looking to have kids with someone, maybe… But Adam and Curtis said they had domestic dogs in their pack. Maybe they had werewolves more Keith’s size he could get along with? Sure he was also domestic, but he was big. Keith even said he fitted in with the pack better than he did even though he was domesticated.

_“Are you going to go?”_ Asked Lance.

Keith glanced up at him. _“Huh?”_

_“Are you going to go and join their pack? They have more domesticated werewolves. It might be fun?”_

Keith huffed a little as he climbed over a log. _“Nah. I don’t want to leave the mountain… This is my home.”_

_“But there might be a cute guy you could hook up with.”_ Said Lance. _“You said it yourself, it’s hard to find gay guys on the mountain. It’s probably even harder to find a gay werewolf… Don’t you want a partner?”_

_“... I do, but I really don’t want to leave the mountain… I’m fine with just staying here on the mountain for the rest of my life.”_

_“Huh?”_ Lance didn’t get it. Shouldn’t Keith be a little interested in finding someone else? Is he holding out for someone to come here instead? He frowned a little as he thought about this. 

His mind quickly delved into conspiracy territory. He blamed Pidge for that. But maybe Keith didn’t want to leave the mountain because he already had eyes for someone? What if he liked someone in the pack and they couldn’t be together because they were too closely related? What if he had a crush on a townie? What if he had a crush on the pet of a townie? The scandal.

_“Would you go?”_ Asked Keith. _“If you didn’t have work or anything like that would you go and find a partner?”_

_“... I don’t know.”_ Admitted Lance. _“Like, I would like to have a family eventually… Would my kids be domestic werewolves too?”_

_“Maybe. It all depends.”_ Said Keith as he climbed up and stood on a rock. _“If two domestic’s have a cub there is a fifty, fifty chance that they will be either a domestic werewolf or a human. If a domestic and a pure werewolf get together it’ll be more of a wolf-dog hybrid. Why? You thinking you might find a nice werewolf girl to settle down with?”_

_“Maybe? I’d at least like to look for another werewolf… It would make explaining why I’m a domestic werewolf easier…”_

_“... Yeah.”_ Keith sighed a little and sat on the rock.

While he sat Lance couldn’t help but walk over and sniff him. He was small and smelled comforting. Kind of like damp wood and pine. Keith made a small noise and tried to move away from him, but Lance lightly bumped his nose against him. Keith huffed and stood up. Lance kept following him, his nose practically glued to the smaller dog. Suddenly Keith yelped and jumped off the rock he was standing on and Lance jumped back in shock.

_“LANCE?!”_

_“WHAT? WHAT DID I DO?”_

Keith growled at him and marched over to him. _“Did you do that? Did you just fucking do that?”_

_“Do what? What did I do?”_

_“Your cold ass nose touched my butt!”_ He yapped. _“What the fuck?!”_

Lance jumped in shock. _“I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to! I was just sniffing you!”_

Keith huffed and pulled his tail down between his legs and quickly marched off. _“Fucking cold nose against my ass. Fucking hell. What am I a fucking puppy or something? What the fuck?”_

_“...”_ Lance felt horrible. _“Did I do a bad?”_

Keith huffed louder and glared over his shoulder at him. _“You don’t just randomly sniff someone’s ass like that! Weirdo! Especially when your nose is so fucking wet and cold!”_

_“... Sorry.”_

_“Forget it. I’m cold. Let’s just go back to my place and sleep on the carpet.”_

_“Sounds like a plan…”_ Lance still felt kind of bad for spooking Keith.

***

When the pack ran off, Curtis and Adam went for a walk. Kolivan had warned them about getting too close to the town or talk to any of the people. They agreed to it and wandered as close to the town as they dared too. Of course Adam dared more that Curtis and he happily wandered close to the fences.

Curtis gave him a warning growl. _“Adam. Don’t do it. The last thing we need to do is cause trouble for this pack. We’re here to see if anyone wants to move around for mating reasons. Not because someone’s started pointing guns at us.”_

_“You worry too much.”_ They sniffed the air. _“... You smell that? I think it’s the hunter?”_

Curtis also sniffed the air. _“... I don’t want to run into a hunter while in werewolf form… You never know what they might do. Even if he is friendly with the pack here I-”_

The sudden sound of a gun cocking made both werewolves freeze and turn around. Holding a shotgun. He was muscular and looked quite stunning with that shock of white hair mixed in with the black. He had a scar across his nose and a cold look in his eyes.

_“Holy shit…”_ Whispered Adam. _“If he’s gay I’m calling dibs.”_

_“Why are you like this?”_ Growled Curtis.

“My name is Shiro.” Said Shiro in an eerily calm voice. “I don’t know if you two are the visitors I was told about or if you two are just visitors from the resort. If you’re visitors get moving. I have no beef with you.”

_“Yet you look like a beefcake.”_

Curtis shook his head. _“If we get shot I am going to push the bullet deeper inside you.”_

_“Kinky.”_

“If you can understand me nod your head. Understand?” The two of them nodded their heads and Shiro seemed to calm down a little. “Good. Now, answer my next few questions or I will shoot you both dead. Understand?”

They both nodded and Adam nudge Curtis. _“By the end of Spring I’m going to bury my bone in that hunter by the end of Spring.”_

_“Why do you insist on putting your dick in crazy?”_

“Stop that.” Said Shiro with a hint of anger in his voice.

_“He’s trying to act all scary. How cute.”_

_“Adam, I swear to fuck if you don’t shut up right the fuck now I will make sure this Shiro guy shoots you right in the face.”_

Shiro raised the gun up a little higher and aimed it at them. “Nod once if you know Kolivan.” The two of them nodded. “Okay. Which one of you is Curtis?”

_“That’s me!”_ Said Curtis as he wagged his tail slightly.

Shiro nodded and pointed the gun at Adam. “So you are Adam?”

_“Yep. Also your ass is grass and I’m gonna mow it.”_

_“Every day you stray further from gods light.”_

_“I’m not going to take this from the guy that was developing feelings for a husky owned by your normal, human, non werewolf neighbours.”_

Curtis huffed and looked away. _“Jerk. I was a teenager and he was cute… I was only attracted to him when I was in werewolf form anyway...”_

Shiro sighed a little and lowered his gun. “Okay. Fine. As long as you two don’t get any closer to the town I don’t care what you do. Now off with you.”

They watched as Shiro turned around and walked through a gate into his backyard before he went back into his house. Adam watched him, wagging his tail slightly. Curtis did not like it one bit. Adam was going to do something stupid.

_“Don’t you dare.”_ Curtis growled at him.

_“Oh I dare.”_ Adam happily jumped over the fence and walked up to the backdoor.

Curtis sighed heavily and quickly followed him. He didn’t know why Adam had to do this. The second Adam smelled danger all reason got thrown out the window. He was pretty sure Adam would stick his dick in a working blender if there was a small chance that it wouldn’t get ripped to shreds. This was the kind of idiot he had to live with.

Adam was happily sniffing around the door and wagged his tail. _“Think he will let us in?”_

_“He almost shot us you idiot.”_ Growled Curtis. _“Let’s just head back to Kolivan’s cabin.”_

The door suddenly opened and Shiro looked down at them. He looked kind of over this. “You two want to come in, don’t you?”

_“Damn right we do.”_ Said Adam.

“Is Kolivan’s pack being hostile to you two or something?”

_“Let’s go with that.”_ Adam gently pressed his head against Shiro’s stomach and pushed him out of the way. He quickly made himself at home while Curtis gave Shiro an apologetic look while he followed Adam.

_“We’re pushing our luck.”_ Warned Curtis. _“Behave.”_

Adam rolled his eyes. _“Fine. I’ll be a good boy and just lay down here on the floor like you. You virgin.”_

_“... Virgin isn’t an insult you thirsty, thirsty dog.”_ He lied down on the ground out of the way of everyone and everything. He felt he should at least be considerate of Shiro who let them into his home. Adam didn’t seem to give a shit and just stretched out in the middle of the floor.

Shiro just ignored them and walked to the kitchen. He took some beers out of the fridge and grabbed two bowls. “You two want a beer? Bark once for yes, ignore me for nothing.” The two wolves barked and Shiro came back with beer in bowls for them while he sat on the couch with his own. He let out a long sigh and turned on the TV. “Look, I’ve had a long, long day. You guys are going to watch what I am going to watch. Don’t trash my house and I might give you a ride back up to the resort tomorrow.”

_“I bet you one deer I can get into his bed tonight.”_ Said Adam.

_“Adam, I will break your fucking neck if you keep this up.”_

_“You are no fun.”_

***

Keith sighed a little from his position on the floor. As soon as they got inside and Keith found a comfy spot, Lance had wrapped himself around him again like he had at the bonfire. He had to admit Lance was warm and smelt nice. It was still weird that Lance was sniffing him.

Not that he really could blame him. Sniffing was normal and sniffing the pack as reassurance was more pup behaviour than anything, which was why Keith didn’t turn around and kick Lance in the snout when he started sniffing him. Though his nose touching us butt was a huge surprise to him. His nose was way too cold and wet for his liking.

Still he couldn’t deny he ended up sniffing Krolia or his dad a lot when he first turned. He was scared and needed comfort and reassurance from them that everything was okay. That the world wasn’t as scary as he thought it was when he was such a small werewolf. It helped him memorize their scents so he could find them if he got lost… Maybe Lance was doing that too? Trying to memorize his scent? 

Ha, if only. Lance didn’t know what he was doing. He was just trying to remember his scent because Lance wasn’t close to anyone else in the pack. As soon as he got closer to others he could just imagine Lance jumping all over them and nuzzling each other. It annoyed him a little, but it was going to happen.

And what if some cute werewolf girl or guy from the other pack came over in Spring and caught Lance’s attention? If he found a woman they would have the family Lance mentioned he wanted and if it was a guy, well that would really crush him. He’d be some super attractive werewolf both him human and werewolf forms. He wouldn’t look like Keith. Some dumb, tiny toy dog. He’s either be a domestic werewolf like a golden retriever or something, or some stunning dire werewolf like Adam and Curtis.

He sighed and closed his eyes as he leaned against Lance. He hoped Lance could find someone he liked that would treat him well. Keith was content with staying single for the rest of his life. He was used to it. Sure he felt a little sad about it, but he had his pack and he had friends now. So that was fine. Really.

He suddenly felt a warm, wet tongue whack across his head. He looked up at Lance just in time to get licked again. _“Why?”_

_“Because licks make you feel better and I can’t hug upi or I’ll crush you.”_ Said Lance like it was the most logical thing in the world. _“I read about why dogs lick. Licking makes endorphins so I’m going to lick you to make you feel better.”_

_“... I think I have to be the one licking you for this to work.”_

_“Oh, okay. Lick me.”_

_“... Pass.”_

Lance made an undignified noise. _“What? Do I smell bad? Did I step in something outside? I swear I had a shower before I came out here.”_

Keith could tell. Lance smelled like coconuts and fruit. Best way to describe it, Lance would say he smelled like summer. _“You’re fine. I just… Do don’t really lick people… I’m not a big licker.”_

That made the wolfhound huff. _“Really? But dogs lick people and each other. That’s just what they do. It’s natural.”_

He shrugged and rested his head against Lance’s paw. _“You’re still in your puppy stages. When you get more used to being a werewolf you’ll get over the whole sniffing and licking thing. It will eventually go away.”_

_“Oh, okay.”_ Lance lightly pressed his nose against Keith’s side. _“So um… You grew out of it too?”_

_“Yeah. When I first turned I sniffed and licked everything. Hell, I licked the wall for a while just because I liked the taste of the lacquer my dad used to treat the wood.”_

_“Huh, weird… Where are there other werewolves going to stay in the Spring?”_

_“Depends.”_ Said Keith. _“There are a few cabins that will be empty because the owners will leave the mountain for work, like Krolia. Some of them have larger cabins they live in just because they are inherited from their families. So they will have room… My cabin’s big enough for me… Maybe two people? I don’t know.”_

Lance nodded and sighed a little. _“Think you might find yourself a boyfriend in Spring?”_

_“Doubt it. Unless there werewolf form is a small domestic dog then it’s the single life for me.”_

_“Hmmm…”_ Hummed the larger werewolf. _“When the snow melts, want to come with me, Pidge, and Hunk to the mall in the town at the foot of the mountain?”_

Alarm Bells quickly went off in Keith’s head. _“What? Why? Why the heck would I even… No? Why would I want to leave the mountain?”_

Lance gave Keith a very confused look. _“Well there’s your usual clothes shopping? Plus there’s a hunting shop there too and I know you don’t use guns, but I thought you might like to get some hunting knives? Like the shop up here is good, but it doesn’t have much variety? Just thought you might like it.”_

_“I guess… You think Shiro’s gone and shot the dire wolves yet?”_ Keith needed to deflect the topic of leaving the mountain for now. He didn’t want to talk about leaving the mountain right now. Even if it wasn’t forever, it made him extremely uncomfortable.

_“Maybe. Does Shiro have silver bullets?”_

_“Yeah, he let me watch him make some once.”_ Said Keith. _“It was cool.”_

_“Neat… Does he used them much?”_

_“No. It’s literally just for protection if he needs to go out at night in the woods.”_ Said Keith. _“... So it’s going to be glued to his hip in Spring. We’re generally pretty peaceful but in Spiring… Hormones and stuff. Ruts suck. Like, you can pretend it’s a really intense cold when you’re a human but when you’re a werewolf… Um… I’ll tell you about it closer to the time.”_ Keith really didn’t want to tell Lance to either find someone he can hook up with or buy a body pillow to hump. Which reminded Keith, he needed to get a new pillow soon.


	22. Breakfast coffee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our favourite triad have a nice chat over breakfast while our favourite idiots are still idiots. Now I must sleep for all my bones are in pain after going to the gym. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Shiro woke up to the sound of people walking around his house. He almost had a panic attack when he remembered the werewolves he let into his home the previous night. With a huge he got up, grabbed two pairs of pants, and walked into the lounge room. A dark skinned man was sitting on the couch wrapped in a blanket while a slightly lighter skinned man was sitting on the floor. 

The lighter skinned man looked over at Shiro and smiled. “Good morning there Shiro.”

The other man looked up at him and smiled sheepishly at him. “Hey. Sorry about last night. I told Adam we should just head back to Kolivan’s cabin and wait until morning but he wasn’t listening.”

Adam shrugged. “Why walk all the way there when we could walk a few steps in here?”

Shiro sighed and tossed the pants at them. “Just put some pants on and I’ll make us all breakfast.”

“Bed and breakfast?” Asked Adam. “He’s a keeper.”

Curtis rolled his eyes and shot Shiro an apologetic look. “Don’t mind Adam. He’s an idiot. You don’t have to make us anything. If you could drop us off at Kolivan’s place that would be fine.”

Shiro shrugged and headed to the kitchen. “Relax. I usually do this for Keith when he managed to stumble into my house. You two good with sausages and eggs with your coffee?”

The two men were happy with that and Shiro made them breakfast. The trio sat at the small dining room table and ate their food. As they ate Shiro couldn’t help but notice Adam was struggling a little. He would go to stab something and miss, or bring an empty fork up to his mouth once in a while.

Curtis noticed Shiro looking and smiled slightly at him. “Adam is nearsighted and farsighted.” He explained. “He has bifocals, but they are at Kolivan’s place.”

“Yeah.” Said Adam. “When I am a werewolf my other senses are sharper and they compensate for my lack thereof. It’s a little more difficult when I am a human and everything is dulled.”

“Ah, okay.”

“Yeah.” Curtis sipped his coffee. “So… How did a werewolf hunter end up here in the first place? No offence but you people aren’t very friendly towards us.”

Shiro shrugged. “Times have changed… My father was friends with Keith’s father.”

“Keith’s the pomeranian, right?” Asked Adam.

“Yep.” Shiro smiled a little in amusement when he heard Keith described as a pomeranian. “So I knew his father, he was practically my uncle even though he was just my father’s best friend… One day he just suddenly vanished and the last thing my father had gotten from him was a letter with a return address to a P.O box in this town. My father couldn’t come here to find him due to medical issues, so I decided to find him… and I did. Turns out he went and fell in love with a werewolf. Even had a child with her.”

“So was your old man a hunter too?” Asked Adam.

Shiro nodded. “Yep. Everyone in my family has been hunters… Obviously uncle Akira wasn’t a hunter. He was completely human, but he knew about supernatural creatures.”

“Were you surprised he had taken a werewolf as a partner?” Asked Curtis.

Shiro shrugged. “A little. But it wasn’t like I could ask him about it at the time. He died in a forest fire two years before I came here. It was… I felt bad I wasn’t able to say goodbye to him, but I met Keith. If I’m going to be honest he was pretty feral.” The other werewolves chuckled at that. “Well he was. He knew I was a hunter right away and instead of running away he ran up to me and bit me.”

Adam grinned. “He bit you?”

“Yeah. He really sunk his teeth in. Shook his head, and pulled my arm off.” Shiro gestured to his prosthetic. “It was kind of loose and he just took it off. He ripped it right off, looked shocked he’s actually done that, and he ran off with it. Didn’t even drop it.”

Curtis almost snorted his drink. “What? Really? He ran off with your arm?”

“Yeah. It was pretty funny looking back at it… That’s how I met Kolivan actually. I managed to grab hold of Keith by the back of his belt and yanked him into the air and told him to drop it.” Said Shiro. “Keith was holding onto it for ten minutes before Koliavn happened to walk by and saw us. It was an interesting day.”

“Well that’s one way to meet a pack leader.” Said Adam.

“Did you get your arm back?”

“Yeah, after another hour of negotiating with Keith.” Said Shiro. “I wasn’t just saying he was feral because he was an angry fuck. Kolivan had to flick his nose and threatened to hit him with a newspaper if he didn’t drop it.” 

“So why did you stick around?” Asked Adam. “Your uncle was gone, there are werewolves here, and it’s in the middle of nowhere.”

Shiro shrugged. “It’s quiet here. Kolivan’s pack has been here for generations. They are happy living their life in peace and don’t cause trouble from humans as long as they don’t bother them. The views are nice… And if I’m honest I actually liked Keith. I’ve never seen a young werewolf like that before. Most adult werewolves are cautious of me and don’t want to be anywhere near me. Keith wasn’t. He stole my arm and ran away.”

“You find little thieves endearing?” Asked Adam.

“Apparently I do.” Shiro smiled a little as he thought about Keith in his younger years. He was practically non verbal around him at the start. Shiro had actually assumed that Keith was homeschooled by the other werewolves on the mountain, but he found that wasn’t the case when he saw Keith getting off the school bus with the other kids. He ran straight towards the first werewolf he saw and they actually started talking. 

He looked happy and Shiro kind of wanted to make Keith smile like that and trust him. Because he was the son of a family friend, and a werewolf, and there was just something about Keith. He was pretty sure there was something about him that his hunter instinct was hinting towards. It wasn’t anything bad, it was more out of curiosity. 

Through a series of trial and error, Shiro slowly got closer to Keith. Exchanging a small greeting to him when he passed by. Asking him how his day was when he walked past his house. Simple little things like that. Keith was warming up to him slowly and eventually he actually started smiling at him when he saw Shiro. 

Then there was that one night during a full moon when Shiro happened to see a pomeranian getting into a fight with a raccoon by his bins. Shiro easily separated them and took the pomeranian inside. There was something strange about it, and he figured out what it was exactly when he found a naked teenager going through his laundry basket in the morning. It was extremely awkward. 

But after that things seemed to get better at them. Keith actually started to come over to Shiro’s house during his pack’s runs. Apparently he was too young to do anything useful for the pack since he was still considered a pup. Keith complained that it was because he was a pomeranian and not a “real” werewolf. Shiro felt like there might be some truth in that. But he didn’t want to hurt Keith’s feelings or make him feel inferior for being such a small werewolf. 

So he’d let Keith come over whenever he wanted to during a run and even when it wasn’t a full moon. Keith seemed to like coming over after school so he could study. While he was fine with going to someone else’s cabin to study he was easily distracted when they were working around the house. He would want to help too. 

The other werewolves in Keith’s pack had found their relationship odd and did become slightly more protective of Keith. Kolivan just shrugged it off. “Humans like looking after small domestic animals. It’s in their nature to be protective of them.” He had said.

Shiro was glad he was able to get the blessing of the pack leader. It made things a lot easier for him since they trusted him with their youngest pup. He smiled at the memory.

“So you like thieves or do they have to be tiny thieves?” Asked Adam.

Curtis rolled his eyes and kicked Adam from under the table. “Ignore him. He’s an idiot.”

“Gathered as much.”

“Hey!”

“So what’s it like where you live?” Asked Shiro. “I honestly haven’t really seem much in the way of werewolf settlements so…”

“We live more on the grid than the werewolves here.” Said Curtis. “We live in a farming town. Mostly sheep. Some cattle… I think someone has some goats?”

“And lots of chickens.” Said Adam. “An ungodly amount of the feathered fucks.”

“Adam doesn’t like chickens.”

“They can go fuck themselves.”

Shiro chuckled a little. “I see, so it isn’t that different.”

Adam nodded. “Yeah… So anyway, come Spring some of us are going to move here.”

“Gene pool thing?”

The werewolves nodded. “Gene pool thing.”

Shiro nodded and finished his breakfast. “Well hope that turns out well for you guys.”

Adam chuckled. “Well Curtis and I probably won’t be expanding the gene pool unless we’re super desperate. We’re gay.”

Curtis nodded in agreement. “Super gay. Gotta admit though the confirmation is so much easier when you’re a werewolf than when you’re human. You just hit your first rut and bam, you pretty much just follow your nose until you find a werewolf you’re attracted to. Scent first gender later.”

“Yep.” Adam squinted and groped around the table to find his knife. “I didn’t even know I was gay until I hit my first rut.”

“I had my suspicions.”

“Shut up Curtis.”

Shiro chuckled a little and started putting his dishes away. “Finish up so I can take you to Kolivan’s cabin. That’s where you left your clothes and wallets and stuff, right?”

***

Lance still wasn’t used to waking up naked next to Keith after a run. Especially since Lance had a tendency to curl around Keith when he was a werewolf. He couldn’t help it. Keith was so small and cute and he was just… He couldn’t help it.

At some point during the night the two of them had moved back to Keith’s bed and Lance curled up around him. It was nice but damn it was so weird in the morning. Keith’s hair was so pretty and soft, but he still wasn’t used to this kind of intimacy. He doubted he ever would.

Lance slowly got out of bed and got dressed. He had to go into work for a few hours to do payroll for the week. Allura had caught a cold and was too messed up to even attempt it. So it fell on Lance to make sure everyone got their weekly cash on time.

Before he left he looked back at Keith. He was mostly under the covers. Mostly. His arms and most of his torso was still exposed. Lance sighed and went to pull the covers up over him. 

Suddenly Keith’s hand grabbed his wrist tightly, making Lance yelp in shock. “Keith?!”

“... You’re leaving already?”

“Um, yeah.”

“You usually stay longer.” Keith sounded disappointed. “Stay for breakfast?”

“No can do Keith. I gotta walk home, get into my car, and get to work. It’ll be midmorning by the time I get there.” Said Lance. “Then I’ll be there for an hour or two, then I want to go home for a shower.”

“I have a shower here.”

“I have a bigger water heater.”

“But it’s right here.”

“But I have to go.”

Keith pouted when he said that. He looked like he was thinking something over in his sleepy post werewolf mind. “Stay for coffee at least?”

“Keith…”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t have coffee.”

“... Right.”

“I have to go now. I’ll be back in the afternoon.” Lance smiled at him and lightly patted his head. “I’ll be back. You keep sleeping. You need it. Later Keith.”

“... Bye Lance.”

Lance left but he swore he heard a small, sad whine just as he closed the door. He must have misheard. Keith didn’t make any of those sounds even when he was a werewolf… And even if he was upset it was just because he had moved away from him and now he was cold. Yeah, that was it. Lance shouldn’t get his hopes up. He had other things to do now. He had people he needed to pay.

***

Keith laid in bed for along, long time after Lance left. He was frustrated. Mainly with himself. He liked Lance. He liked him a lot. He liked him so much… He should ask him if he wanted to go out with him, even if that was a terrible, terrible idea. Lance didn’t really have the life skills to hack it out in the forest while he knew he couldn’t function to life on the grid. It was a dumb idea and he needed help.

So Keith reluctantly rang Shiro. The reception was a little spotty but he was able to get a hold of him. “Shiro?”

 _“Hey Keith.”_ Shiro’s voice sounded a little distant. _“Is something wrong?_

“Are you on speaker?”

_“Yeah. I’m driving. So what’s up? Did you get stuck in something last night?”_

“What? No. I… It’s about Lance…” Keith very reluctantly sat up and wrapped himself up in his bed sheets and pouted at no one inparticular. “He ran out after I asked him to stay when he woke up in the morning… He was practically running out the door.”

_“Well maybe he has something he needed to do?”_

“Maybe…” He mumbled. “He said he had work stuff, but he’s been able to take time off during runs… Do you think it’s me?”

_“Huh?_

“Like, I know I’m not the most sociable werewolf or person out there so maybe he just doesn’t like me?” He nervously picked at the loose threads on the bed sheets. “Like, it’s okay if he doesn’t like me but I… I feel like I don’t even have a chance with him… Shiro, you’re human. What do humans like?”

 _“Aw, that’s so sweet.”_ Cooed a voice Keith wasn’t expecting to hear.

 _“Shut up. They are having a heart to heart.”_ Hissed another voice.

 _“Both of you shut up.”_ Said Shiro. _“I’m sorry Keith. I should have told you I’m in the car with Adam and Curtis. I’m giving them a lift to Kolivan’s place.”_

 _“Hi Keith. Get him flowers. Humans like flowers._ Said Adam..

 _“Hi Keith. We didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”_ Said Curtis. _“Food is good too. Get Lance something that he likes to eat. He’ll appreciate that.”_

Keith felt his face burning bright red. He did not expect Shiro to have people in the car. He did not expect him to have werewolves in the car. Two werewolves from another pack. Now they knew he was an insecure mess that liked Lance. The only way this could get worse was if the whole pack knew and attempted to set them up for Spring. 

_“Are you still there Keith?”_ Asked Shiro

 _“I think we broke him.”_ Said Adam.

Curtis sighed dramatically. _“He wouldn’t have known we were here if you didn’t say anything. This is why you’re in the back seat.”_

_“I thought you said it was because I’d press all the buttons on the dash?”_

_“That too.”_

“Shiro…” Said Keith quietly.

_“Yes?”_

“When you’re done dropping dumb and dumber off can you come over?”

_“Sure. Want me to get you anything?”_

“... Instant coffee.”


	23. Start of Spring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the start of Spring and all the shenanigans that'll happen. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Slowly Winter ended. The snow melted. The tourists left. The seasonal shops closed. The town of Garrison became quiet again. At least quiet in town. Many of the werewolves became very excited about the prospect of new werewolves coming to the mountain and a few of the werewolves were excited to head out of state.

Keith watched the new arrivals from the safety of the deck on Kolivan’s cabin. About seven werewolves from his pack left while out of state werewolves arrived. Kolivan, along with several other werewolves from their council. They were trying to figure out if they would put everyone.

Adam and Curtis were among the werewolves coming to stay for the Spring. The two dire werewolves sat on either side of him. “Did you miss us?” Asked Adam. 

“Missed you like ticks and fleas.” He muttered.

Adam pouted while Curtis just rolled his eyes. “I know you don’t like us that much because we heard you admitting you like a certain someone to Shiro, but aren’t you at least a little excited for Spring? You two could get together?”

“Yeah, and I’d fucking die.” Muttered Keith.

“Aren’t you just exaggerating?” Asked Curtis.

Keith shook his head. “He’s a wolfhound and I’m a pomeranian. He would literally kill me if he tried to fuck me.”

“... Right.” Muttered Curtis. “Well, mating during a full moon is out then…”

“Fuck him instead.” Said Adam. “Get a step ladder and fuck him.”

Curtis reached over and punched Adam’s arm. “Shut up Adam.”

“What? It would work… Maybe. Lance might not feel anything because of the size difference but he wouldn’t die by getting impaled by a dick.”

Keith let out a long sigh and stood up. “Right. That’s it. I’m heading out. Enjoy life on the mountain this Spring.” He walked over to Kolivan. He waited until he was done talking to some amish looking guy before he spoke up. “I’m going to head home.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I’ll meet everyone when the next run happens. I need to talk to Lance about ruts and stuff soon anyway.”

Kolivan nodded. “Alright. Off you go.”

Keith smiled a little and started to walk back home. The snow was melting, but there was still some on the ground. It would be a few more weeks until it was warm enough for people to start going into a rut. Which pretty much meant one thing for Keith and his fellow werewolves; cleaning. Lots and lots of cleaning. It was an instinctual thing that they did. Something about trying to make your space more livable for your mate and your inevitable children. Keith used it as an excuse to air out his bedsheets and do some washing.

When he got to his place he was surprised to see Lance standing around. He smiled and waved at him. “Hey Keith.”

“Hey? What’s up?”

Lance smiled at him. “Well it’s Spring and I was going to head into town with Hunk and Pidge. You want to some with? It’ll be fun. Promise.”

“... Off the mountain?”

“Yeah?”

“... I don’t like going off the mountain.”

Lance looked disappointed. “I know… I just… I really wanted to spend some time with you when we weren’t you know, werewolves? Like it’s fine if you don’t want to. I don’t mind. I’ll bring you back something. What do you want me to bring back?”

“...” Keith sighed a little. He didn’t want to make Lance upset with him. “Let me get some money and we’ll go.”

***

Lance was surprised that Keith actually agreed to go with him. After the last time he mentioned going off the mountain Keith really freaked out. He was sure he wouldn’t agree but had asked him anyway. So now he and Keith were sitting in the back of Hunk’s parents van while Pidge in the passenger seat messing with the radio, like always.

“Hey good to see you again Keith.” Said Hunk with a smile. “Feels like forever since we’ve seen each other.”

Keith shrugged as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. “Yeah. Been busy in Winter. Getting ready for Spring. People from out of state have come over.”

“Oh? Long distance relatives?” 

“Something like that.” Muttered Keith. 

“Yo Lance!” Called Pidge. “You think they’ll actually have the parts in today?”

“Maybe? Who knows?” The trio continued to banter as Hunk drove down the mountain. Pidge had been talking about getting more games from the game shop. Hunk wanted to get some comics and some new shoes, along with some stuff he needed to pick up for his parents. Lance was Lance and he wanted more clothes and shoes.

Every now and then Lance would look over at Keith. He looked stressed. Really stressed. Lance didn’t really know what to do. Maybe he was starting to feel motion sick? It could happen. His big sister Veronica always got motion sick when she drove up the mountain. He looked around the backseat and found an old plastic bag with a few receipts in it.

He nudged Keith to get his attention. “What?” He growled.

Lance offered him the back. “Here. You kind of look like you’re going to be sick. If you are just puke in this.”

“Is Keith getting car sick?” Asked Hunk. “Oh geez, you should have told me. Want me to pull over?”

“I’m fine.” Said Keith quickly. “I just… I don’t like leaving the mountain. That’s all… Haven’t been off the mountain since I graduated high school...”

“Some form of agoraphobia?” Asked Pidge.

Lance frowned. “Doesn’t that mean he’d want to stay in his house all the time?”

“I consider the whole mountain my home.” Said Keith.

Pidge shrugged. “Some form of agoraphobia? I don’t know. We’ll be quick.”

“Thanks…” Muttered Keith. He took the plastic bag anyway.

After twenty or so minutes they were off the mountain and Hunk parked in a parking lot. The group managed to walk inside while Keith just looked miserable. His hands were firmly in his pockets with his eyes fixed to the ground. If he had a tail right now, Lance was pretty sure it would be curled right between his legs.

They decided to split up and meet back in the food court to cut down on time. Hunk and Pidge ran off one way and Lance and Keith went the other way. Keith stuck very close to Lance. He looked like he was shaking a little, which worried Lance a lot.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“I don’t like these places.” He muttered.

“It isn’t that bad Keith.” Said Lance calmly. “Sure it’s a little weird, but it’ll be fine… Why don’t you like these places?”

“...” He gestured to mall security. “When I was in middle school some asshole kids at my school slipped some stuff into my pocket as I was leaving a store. I got into big trouble and had to stay in the security booth thing for hours. Reception was shit and no one was able to get in contact with anyone until six. It sucked.”

“Oh… I guess that would be pretty traumatic. So that’s why you don’t like coming off the mountain?”

Keith shrugged. “One of the reasons… Bad shit always seems to happen off the mountain.”

“Oh, okay…” Lance squeezed Keith’s hand and smiled at him. “Just stick with me and I’ll make sure nothing bad happens. Okay? Now let’s get shopping! I have too many clothes with too many holes.”

“Yeah, tends to happen when you’re an idiot and don’t strip down before the full moon happens.”

“Hush you. You don’t need to worry about that. You’re so small.” Lance pulled Keith into a clothing shop and started to look through different racks while Keith kind of just stood back. He paused and looked over at him. “You can look at stuff too you know.”

Keith shrugged and shook his head. “No point. There’s nothing I want… or can afford…”

Lance frowned a little. This wasn’t the most expensive clothing shop in the mall. Hell, it was just a discount clothing chain. He was just after some cheap clothes. He didn’t like the fact Keith thought that this place was too expensive for him. It was kind of sad.

Nope. Lance was not going to let this go. He dragged Keith through the store towards the kind of clothes Keith usually wore. “Pick some stuff out. Some shirts and some pants. I’ll pay for it.”

“... Why?” Asked Keith. He sounded genuinely confused. 

“Because I want to do something nice for you. You’ve been good to me over the past few months… So let me do this for you?”

Keith seemed surprised and unsure of himself. After a lot of nervously moving from foot to foot he finally started looking through the shirt rack. He picked out a few ones that he liked and a few pairs of jeans. “... Is this okay?” He asked. “Should I put some back?”

Lance had a feeling Keith had been told to put a lot of stuff back as a kid. “Nah, it’s cool.” He smiled and playfully nudged his arm. “Just hold onto those while I look for a new shirt. I swear my nails get ridiculously sharp when we go on runs.”

The other man shrugged. “Probably. I bite my nails.”

“... What?”

“... I bite my nails?”

“Keith, that’s just… No. Do you not have nail clippers?”

Keith pulled a face. “I hate those things. My dad used them on me when he heard me running across the floor. Something about how he was fine with the whole turning into a dog thing, but me sounding like a giant cockroach skittering across a hardwood floor was just too much for him.”

Lance couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of a grown man freaking out over a pomeranian running across the floor like some insect. “Really?”

“Yeah. Nail clippers suck.” Keith busied himself by looking through his clothes again. He seemed pleased to have them. Which in turn made Lance very happy. After that the two went to a shoe shop. Lance was looking for some new runners after his had started to get worn out. 

Keith went straight to the boots. Specifically the steel capped ones. He was looking between different pairs and frowning as he seemed to be making a very important decision. Lance had no idea what criteria Keith was looking for in boots but he hoped that he was finding what he was looking for. Lance found the shoes he wanted pretty much straight away.

“You okay there Keith?”

“I’m thinking.”

“About what?”

“I’m wondering if I will break my foot if I kick someone with this.”

“... What?”

Keith continued to look down at the boots. “It’s Spring time. I’ll need to let that hormonal aggression out somehow.”

“By kicking people?”

“People, trees, rocks, all that stuff.” Keith tapped a boot against the ground a few times and frowned at it. “Trust me you will feel it too when you first start your rut.”

Right. Lance had kind of been putting off talking about that. He didn’t really know what to say about it. Hell, he didn’t know what to expect. Keith hadn’t really talked much about it and yeah, it might have been an embarrassing thing, but Lance needed to know.

“Yeah… rut…” He muttered. “I don’t really know what I am meant to do for that…”

“Buy a body pillow.” Said Keith. “Hump that during a run. It’ll be fine. That’s what I have to do.”

“... You have to do that?”

Keith glanced up at him and shrugged. “Our hormones get more out of control when we’re in our werewolf forms. We can kind of lose ourselves when we’re super horny and fuck what we can… Unfortunately since I’m a pomeranian if any werewolf tried to fuck me I would die. If I tried to fuck a werewolf I’d get pushed aside since I’m so small… That’s if they were laying down long enough for me to get to any of them… I’m not exactly a normal sized werewolf…”

“... Did I strike a nerve?”

“... Just buy yourself a body pillow… I’m buying these boots.”

“You can’t afford clothes but you will buy boots?”

“I don’t buy second hand boots. That’s how accidents happen.” Muttered Keith as he quickly went up to the counter and bought his boots. Lance just shrugged and lined up behind him to buy his own shoes. He noticed Keith was paying in dozens of crumpled notes. 

Sure he knew Keith didn’t have a credit card, but where did he get so much money from? Sure he guessed that Keith probably got some cash from doing odd jobs around town for people, but that wasn’t a lot, was it? But he honestly didn’t seem to spend money on anything other than clothes and bits and pieces that he couldn’t find or trade for himself. Maybe he actually had a lot of money just stored away? Keith could secretly be pretty well off from a financial point of view, but just didn’t spend money on anything. That would actually be pretty cool.

When they left the shoe shop they did a bit of window shopping as they headed towards the food court. As they passed a sleepwear place Keith nudged Lance and pointed to some pillows in the window. 

“One like that.” He said. “You’ll want something kind of firm but soft.”

“...” Lance went bright red. “E-excuse me? You mean for like, you know?”

Keith nodded. “Yeah. You’re going to want to find something nice that won’t chafe. Trust me, you don’t need put aloe gel on your dick because you’ve humped a pillow for four hours straight.”

“F-four hours?!”

Keith gave Lance a confused look. “Yeah? It’s kind of difficult to get a good grip on a pillow when you don’t have thumbs. It can take a while before you can get a good rhythm.”

“... Christ Keith. What the fuck man?”

“Too much information?”

“A little.”

Keith suddenly seemed to realise what he had been talking about and went red. “Oh… right… Sorry. Just, you know… Trying to help… You haven’t been in a rut before so… I just want you to be prepared… I kind of had to work all this stuff out for myself since there haven’t been domestic’s in our pack for a few generations… Sorry...” 

“Yeah… It’s okay Keith.” Lance patted him on the back. “I um… I appreciate it. It’s a little weird, but I get it. Thanks.”

“Sorry…”

“You don’t need to keep saying sorry.”

Keith nodded a little and messed around with the handle of his plastic bag. “Okay… I just… I don’t really know how to help you.”

“Well, how will I know my rut has started?”

“You’ll start to feel hornier than usual.” Said Keith. “Obviously. But it’s easy enough to mask as the symptoms of a cold or a fever if you put some effort into it.”

“Okay, cool…”

“Yeah. It should start next week at some time.”

Lance felt his stomach drop. “Really? That soon?”

“Yeah. But relax, it’ll break every now and then. So you’re not going to be in a rut all Spring.”

“Well that’s good…” They found a table at the food court and sat down while waiting for Hunk and Pidge. It didn’t take long for them to come over. Pidge looked pleased with games and electronics. Hunk seemed happy with what he got too.

Somehow the topic turned to swimming costumes. Pidge was whining about how they had to wash a Golden Retriever the other day for a flea bath and it drenched her. Which eventually turned into Hunk talking about refilling his pool for when it started to get really hot. Keith mentioned that there are a few swimming holes he goes to which instantly caught everyone’s attention.

“Really?” Asked Pidge. “You gotta know some really cool places.”

Keith shrugged. “Yeah. Some of the places are pretty nice.”

“You should totally show us one of them.” Said Lance. “Like, we promise we won’t tell anyone about it. Our secret. Friend secret.”

Keith looked slightly horrified. “Um, while it does sound like a good idea, it’s not.”

“Why?” Asked Hunk.

“Unless you’re okay with seeing naked thirty plus year old men and women I’m not going to show you where any of those places are.” Said Keith. “We kind of… don’t really wear swimming costumes… kind of use those places as outdoor baths more than anything else…”

The trio cringed at that. “Yeah, hard pass on that.” Muttered Pidge. “Alright, I’m gonna go and get something either covered in grease or something smothered in oil.”

“Yeah, me too.” Said Lance. “What do you guys want?”

“Where are you going?” Asked Hunk.

“Burger place.” Said Pidge. “I’m getting loaded fries with extra cheese.”

“Oh nice.” Said Hunk. “Can you get me a large chicken burger meal.”

“You want a coke with that?”

“Yes please.”

Lance looked over at Keith. He had opened his wallet and was counting his money. “Hey Keith. You want something from the burger place?”

“Um, sure.” He said quietly. “I’ll just have whatever. I’m not fussy.”

Lance nodded and he went to get food with Pidge. As they stood in line Pidge couldn’t help but grin and lightly hip check the taller boy. “Soooooooo.”

“So?”

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with Keith. You like him, right?”

Lance blushed. “Well yeah, but you know… It’s kind of complicated. Keith is complicated. He has layers.”

“... So, Keith is an onion?”

“... You get no loaded fries now.”

“Rude.” She pouted and crossed her arms. “You know, you should just talk to him and ask him out. He totally likes you.”

“Yeah, doubt it.” Muttered Lance. “He likes me as a friend and only kind of.”

Pidge frowned up at him. “And why would you think that?”

“Long story short he did something that’s against the bush people code and Kolivan’s basically made him hang out with me and teach me survival stuff to make up for it.”

“... What did he do?”

Lance shrugged. “Remember when I had to replace my backdoor?”

“... He broke your door so now he has to teach you stuff?”

“Basically.”

“Damn… He still likes you.”

Lance shrugged. “We’re just friends. He doesn’t like me like that… We’re just friends.”

“You should still ask him out.”

“Why are you pushing this?”

“Because Hunk and I have a bet.” She admitted. “I need you to ask him out before the end of the month.” 

Lance rolled his eyes and flicked her nose. “Shut it pipsqueak.”

***

Back on Mount Altea Adam and Curtis had moved into their temporary lodging for the Spring. A home owned by a werewolf who had gone to their pack. The cabin was very nice and clean. The owner had left a small list of things they wanted and needed to do around the cabin to keep it functioning. Which was nice.

Adam read over it while Curtis went ahead and started to unpack. They traveled relatively light only bringing some clothes and some books and board games. Just little things to keep them entertained in between the hormonal surges of their rut.

“So, anything we really need to do?” Asked Curtis.

“It’s mainly basic maintenance.” Said Adam. “Stuff about how to make sure the generator is still running and how to make sure we have hot water for the shower.”

“That’s good.” Curtis looked through the cupboard and found some bottled water. “What’s their stance on taking food and drink?”

Adam reread the note. “... They would like the fridge to have at least six bottles of water in it and a few dozen boxes of crackers in the cupboard… Also restock their meat locker if we eat more than half of it.”

“Fair.” He grabbed a bottle of water for himself. “So… Are you really interested in this Shiro guy?”

Adam nodded. “Yep… Look, He’s hot and he’s surprisingly nice. I’d like to get to know him some more and well… If you like him too…”

Curtis sighed and kissed Adam’s cheek. “I like him too… But be nice to him. You tend to be a little extreme when you set your eyes on someone. Don’t scare Shiro away before we can ask him if he’s interested in polyamerous relationships.”

Adam rolled his eyes. “I know. I know. I’m not crazy… Shiro was really nice to us and I… I like him… Do you think he’ll turn us down because we’re werewolves?”

“Well there are probably fifty million other reasons he wouldn’t want to be with us before the werewolf thing. Firstly, he could already be seeing someone. Secondly, he’s straight. Thirdly, he’s squicked out by polyamory.”

Adam sighed dramatically. “Fine.Well now that we have set ourselves up, want to go and see Shiro?”

“Sure.” Said Curtis. “He might not be able to talk to us. He’s probably still at work.”

“Well if he’s at work we can just keep walking. I want to explore the town a little anyway since we’re going to be here for a few months.” Adam stepped outside and frowned. “Hey Curtis?”

“Yeah?” 

“Which way is it to the town?”

“... Fuck.”


	24. Warming up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... Yeah, I got nothing to say to this but I guess this is pre shenanigans? idk. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

After avoiding it for as long as he could, Keith finally dug up his old, stained pillow case from the bottom of his cupboard. Sure he always washed it after use, but damn he needed to wash it at least one more time before his rut started. It was annoying, but it had to be done. He could only hope that Lance was following his advice… But maybe he would get lucky and find a partner during their runs during Spring? It wasn’t unusual.

And Keith wasn’t dumb either. There were a few younger female werewolves from the other pack that were closer to their age than the other women in their pack. One of them was bound to find Lance attractive and he’d end up screwing them. It made him feel disappointed, but in the end it didn’t really matter that much. 

All werewolves understood that there was a difference between sex because of ruts and sex because of love. Sometimes hormone induced sex would lead to something romantic, but no one was shedding tears if it was just a one night stand kind of thing.

Keith sighed and went outside to wash the pillow case and his clothes. Just a few more days before people would start falling victim to their hormones. It was going to be hell. Sure Keith was already resigned to his fate of not being able to find anyone that he could pair up with again, but it still hurt. 

As Keith washed his clothes in a bucket Shiro happened to come by and visit. “Help me.” He practically hissed.

“Huh?”

“I need help.” He quickly looked over his shoulder, like he was being followed by someone. “Can I hide inside while you do that?”

“Um, sure?” He looked back down at the grass stained jeans he was currently washing and sighed. “This needs to soak anyway. Let’s go inside and chat.” As soon as they got inside Shiro locked the door. “... I think I’m being stalked.”

“Stalked? Really?”

Shiro nodded. “Yes. And I think it’s Adam and Curtis… I’ve never actually seen them but it’s my hunter instinct making me feel like it’s them. Do they want to kill me or something?”

Keith shrugged. “Well it’s Spring. Maybe they are competing to see who gets to court you?”

“W-what?!” Sputtered Shiro. “Excuse me? I’m a hunter! Why would they want to… you know? I’m a hunter! I kill werewolves!”

“You’ve never killed a werewolf in your life and you know it.” Muttered Keith. He sighed and sat on the couch. “Face it Shiro, it’s Spring, werewolves get horny and start showing interest in the people they want to fuck. Either stock up on silver or get used to getting your ass railed by two horny werewolves.”

“KEITH?!”

“What? You know I’m right!” He huffed and crossed his arms. “They are either going to fight each other for you or come to a truce and proposition you. Polyamory isn’t uncommon for us. Especially during Spring.”

“I guess but… Werewolves? Why would werewolves like me?”

“Because you are hot?”

Shiro went bright red and made a noise that sounded like a dying duck. “You aren’t meant to say that! You’re like my brother!”

“My inhibitions have been lowered and will continue to lower over the next few days until all I want to do is masturbate and hump my pillow.”

“... Right. Anyway, what should I do about Curtis and Adam? No werewolves have ever shown interest in me, let alone two of them. I need help.”

“Lube.” Said Keith. “Lots of lube and you know, yoga?”

“... Why did I think this was a good idea?” Muttered Shiro.

Keith shrugged. “I have no idea why you came here either. I’m just here doing my best while I wait for the inevitable to happen. If you want them to back te fuck off point a gun at them and tell them to get fucked.”

“... I don’t want to threaten them with a gun.”

“Then screw them?”

“I don’t think I want to do that either...”

Keith sighed. “Look, you figure that out yourself before their rut starts. It’s going to be harder for them to get the message the closer it gets to their rut so go and confront them and let them now. Okay? Okay.”

“I guess…” Shiro sighed loudly. “What the hell kind of werewolf wants to screw a hunter?”

“Horny ones.”

“Touche.”

“... You not interested in them?”

“Well they are nice but I don’t know… I don’t like the fact that they are following me around. It’s creepy.”

Keith shrugged. “It’s kind of what we do. It’s more common with people from other packs. It’s like, we’re observing just to make sure there’s no one else interest before we make a move… I’m getting antsy… I’m gonna go and punch a tree.”

He went to head back outside, but Shiro grabbed his arm. “Wait! I still don’t know what to do… What do you think of them? What should I expect while they are in this weird courting stage? I mean, you’ve never tried to hit on me before.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “I don’t know. They’ll probably be more affectionate or something when they get it through their heads that you are single.”

“Ah, okay…” Shiro sighed. “This is really my problem huh?”

“Yep.”

“... What are you going to do about Lance?”

“Hope he takes my advice and screw a body pillow.”

“You aren’t even going to ask?”

Keith shook his head. “Sorry, but no.”

“Why not?”

Keith sighed and averted his gaze. “I don’t want to fuck Lance because we’ve started or ruts. I want him to actually like me… Plus you know, I’m technically a virgin and I doubt Lance would want that…”

“No one with half a brain cell gives a damn about the concept of virginity.” Said Shiro. “Didn’t Kolivan have to go down to your school because you wrote; virginity is BS push onto women to make them a commodity in a time where pushing out a boy would affect the inheritance of rich people, on your sex ed test?”

Hearing that made Keith chuckle a little. “Well it’s true. Plus I didn’t actually know what a virgin was until sex ed.”

Shiro grinned. “Well you guys have a different concept of sex than humans. Don’t worry about Lance. You just do what you’re comfortable with. Maybe when Spring is over you can talk to him about it? You have said that after all the extreme emotions you guys get kind of drained? So your hormones won’t be clouding your judgement.”

What he said did make sense. Maybe this was just some kind of hormonal haze that he was going through? It could be. Maybe… He’d have a clearer mind post Spring. It made him smile a little. Maybe Lance was just a passing phase? A passing phase that he really, really liked… He hoped that Lance was going to be okay during his rut.

***

When Shiro left Keith’s place he could feel the eyes of the werewolves on him. He couldn’t tell where they were, but he knew they were watching him. “Fuck it…” He muttered. “If you two want to talk I’m going to my house. Just meet me there. Okay?”

Shiro didn’t get any response, so he just kept walking home. By the time he got there both Curtis and Adam were already there waiting for him. Curtis looked slightly embarrassed about being there, but Adam didn’t seem to have as much shame.

“Hey.” Said Curtis.

“Hi.” Said Adam.

Shiro just ignored them and walked inside. He wasn’t sure how he was going to deal with this right now. He went into the kitchen and grabbed himself a drink and sat down at the dining room table. A few seconds later both the werewolves cautiously walked into the house and sat at the table with him. Things were awkwardly quiet.

“So…” Said Shiro. “You two are interested in my? Like sexually?”

Adam shrugged. “Kind of. You’re also nice and I genuinely would like to get to know you better.”

“Same.” Said Curtis. “We’ve only kind of sped things up a little because of the time of year… We would both still like to court you if you’re interested.”

“Like together?” Asked Shiro. “You’re suggesting a polyamerous relationship?”

“If you’re interested.” Said Adam. “If you’re not that’s fine we’ll back off. We don’t want to make you think you have to. We know it isn’t considered normal for humans, but if you’re interested we would like you to be our boyfriend?”

Shiro frowned a little as he thought about this. He didn’t really know them very well and he hadn’t been in a polyamerous relationship before. Hadn’t really had many long term romantic relationships before either. “... I’m not going to have sex with you guys during your ruts am I?”

“No!” Said Curtis quickly. “Of course not. We’d want to try and get to know you a lot better before that happens.”

“Yeah.” Said Adam. “Besides, it’s going to be an on and off thing all through Spring so it’s not like we can’t try and court you a little over Spring between our ruts… If that’s okay with you.”

Curtis nodded in agreement and smiled softly at Shiro. “Look, no pressure. If you want us to leave you alone we can leave it at that.”

Maybe it was because Shiro hadn’t met anyone in a long time, maybe it was because they did seemed nice and genuinely interested in him? But Shiro thought he might as well give it a go. “Okay… Just a few rules I want to establish since I haven’t been in this kind of relationship before, also you’re werewolves.”

“Of course.” Said Curtis.

“... No coming over when either of you are in a rut.” Said Shiro. “Also don’t come over when you guys are werewolves unless you really have to… Just wanting to see me is not reason to see me.”

Adam pouted a little at that last statement. “Okay, fine… Want to come over to our cabin sometime? We can tell you where it is if you have a map?” Curtis kicked Adam from under the table. “Or not…”

“Anyway…” Said Curtis. “We’ll both respect your wishes and not do that, and um… sorry if you were weirded out about us following you around. We wouldn’t do that.”

“Thank you.” Shiro awkwardly drummed his fingers on the table. “So… What if I end up only like one of your romantically?”

“Then that’s a V style relationship.” Said Curtis. “If you ended up falling for Adam but only living me as a friend then that’s fine. If that was the case then you and I would be dating Adam, but we would be metamours. We share a partner but don’t share each other. Adam and I are good if it turns out that you only want to date one of us and want to be one of our metamours. Whatever works best for you is good with us. Adam and I have always been comfortable with polyamory so it’s all up to you.”

Shiro nodded a little. “Okay… Do you guys want to watch TV?” The two wolves looked excited to have been invited to do that so the group retreated to the lounge room to watch TV.

***

Lance kind of felt like shit. Ever since the weather had started to warm up Lance had felt really sore. All his muscles hurt all the time and he felt very tired. Did this mean his rut was starting soon? He hoped not. He wasn’t prepared for this. Was it going to be like a second puberty thing but way worse? Maybe he was just sick since he just felt like shit but wasn’t horny?

He rolled over in his bed and wiped some sweat off his forehead. Should he take some cold medicine? He picked up his phone and randomly called one of the contacts on his phone. Three rings later and someone picked up.

 _“Hey Lance.”_ Said Hunk. _“How are you doing buddy?”_

“Hey Hunk… I know this is gonna sound out of the blue and everything, but can you grab me some cold medicine? I think I caught something.”

 _“Really? Sucks man. Give me one second.”_ Hunk moved the phone away from his head and called out to his parents. After a few seconds of muffled talking Hunk moved his phone back to his head. _“Alright, be over in a few. Can’t stay over for too long though.”_

“Thanks Hunk. You’re the best.” Lance hung up and attempted to shit up, hearing a series of clicks and cracks in his shoulders and back before he just gave up and flopped back down. He groaned and coughed. His throat hurt. It sucked.

Maybe he should call Keith and ask if this was the start of his rut? If this was what Keith had to deal with every year he felt bad for him. Everything sucked. He wanted ice cream. He didn’t have ice cream. Now he felt sad. He was going to call Keith.

Before Lance could call Keith, Hunk let himself in. “Lance? You in the bedroom buddy?”

“Yeah!” He called.

Hunk walked into his room and looked at him with concern. “Whoa… you look kind of bad.”

“I feel kind of bad. Give me the drugs.” He reached out and made grabby hands at the pharmacy bag Hunk was holding.

His friend rolled his eyes and handed the bag over to him. “Here you go you junkie. Over the counter cold and flu meds. Want some water?”

“Yes please.”

Hunk nodded and went to get him some water while Lance tried to pull himself back up. He read the back of his meds two or three times before finally getting through the first sentence by the time Hunk came back and popped the pills out for him to take.

Once he had taken them Hunk stayed around for a bit to make sure that Lance was okay. When he was satisfied that Lance wasn’t going to drop dead Hunk left with the promise of calling later tonight and dropping over with food if he needed it. Hunk really was a good friend.

Lance laid on his side and sighed loudly. He picked up his phone and looked up Keith’s number. He wasn’t sure if Keith would be mad at him if he called and it wasn’t anything life threatening or worrying. He decided to just suck it up and hit call. A few rings later Keith picked up.

_“You okay?”_

“I don’t know.”

_“... What do you mean you don’t know?”_

“I feel weird. Everything hurts. Help? Please?” He asked in a small voice.

Keith was quiet for a few moments before he sighed. _“Okay. I’ll come over. You just… don’t do something stupid.”_

“Okay.” It took about an hour but eventually Keith was knocking at Lance’s backdoor. All of Lance’s muscles felt stiff as he pulled himself up and opened it. He smiled at Keith who looked a little ragged, but otherwise fine. “Keith… I feel weird...”

He took a step towards him when Keith’s eyes suddenly went wide and he took a step back while putting his hands over his face. “Preheat.” He said. “You’re started your preheat.”

“Huh?”

“You’re gonna feel like shit for a while but otherwise you’re fine.” He said quickly. “I-I should go now.”

Now Lance was starting to feel hurt and confused. “What? Is that bad? Do I smell bad or something?”

“No the opposite.” Said Keith as his face quickly started to go bright red. “L-look. You smell nice. Really nice… Stay away from other werewolves unless you just want to find someone to fuck. Okay?”

“...” Lance stepped away from Keith to give him some breathing room. “But Hunk was here a little while ago, why wasn’t he affected?”

“Because he isn’t a werewolf. Humans can’t pick up on this mating scent.” Said Keith quickly. “Preheat is usually more powerful for werewolves during their first rut or heat… Whatever you want to call it… I really should go now… You’ll be fine.”

He turned to leave and Lance felt his chest tighten. Lance felt scared. He didn’t want Keith to leave. Not yet. Before he knew it he tackled Keith to the ground and pressed his nose against Keith’s neck. He smelled good. Really good. He felt like he was mealthing into Keith. Keith’s natural scent was making him dizzy, but he didn’t feel as sore or as terrible when he was this close to the other werewolf.

“D-don’t go.” Lance whispered as his heart hammered in his chest. “Stay. Please.”

Keith seemed to freeze as he dug his fingers into the grass, he was starting to sweat and pant profusely. “Y-you don’t want that.” He whispered. “You’re not thinking clearly. Your actual rut hasn’t even started yet.”

“I know.” Whispered Lance. “I just… I feel better when you’re around.”

Keith made a small whining noise as he tried to crawl out from under Lance. “Preheat! It’s your preheat! Your instincts are just telling you to find someone and I’m the closest werewolf! I-I’m not what you really want! I’m spending my rut alone!”

Hearing him say that seemed to snap Lance out of his hormonal haze just long enough for him to realise what he was doing. Lance felt like shit for doing it. He let go of Keith and sat back, letting Keith quickly move away from him. The other werewolf was panting and had a hazed look in his eyes.

“I-I’m sorry.” Said Lance quietly. “S-so how long is this preheat going to happen?”

“A-a few days.” Said Keith. “After that your rut will actually kick in and you’ll definitely know about it… Fuck, my rut is probably got to start sooner than usual now that I’ve smelt you.”

Now Lance felt guilty. “S-sorry. I just didn’t want to be alone… I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Said Keith quickly. “B-but I should go now. You’re fine. You’ll just look you have a fever when you look like a human every few days when your rut starts up… I gotta go now. Bye.” Keith quickly scrambled to his feet and dashed out of the yard.

Lance sat there on the floor for a few minutes just seeing where Keith had run off. He had a feeling in his guts that he needed to follow Keith. He wanted to follow him he needed to follow him, but his legs weren’t moving. It felt like he was losing his mind. If preheat was this bad, how bad was his actual rut going to be?


	25. Rut

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is time. Get ready for smut with a slight reprieve from the trio of dumb idiots and Curtis. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Keith shouldn’t have gone to Lance’s place, or at least not stayed as long as he did or let Lance pin him to the ground. Being around someone in preheat was the first domino to fall in a chain reaction. Getting pinned down by Lance and being forced to breath in his scent had forced his rut forward. Not that he could really complain that much. Lance smelled amazing. He smelled like the ocean and tropical fruits. It was delicious and Keith just wanted to devour every part of him.

However, Keith prided himself on his strong will and somehow managed to pull himself away from Lance and ran home. That was three days ago and Keith could still smell Lance on him. It didn’t matter how many times he took a bath or how much lavender or rosemary he rubbed into his skin. He could still smell Lance and it was pushing his rut forward.

He woke up in a sweat. Keith was absolutely drenched from head to toe. He needed to shower but his limbs felt heavy as he felt heat pooling in his pelvis. His rut had well and truly set in. Keith groaned in annoyance. It seemed like this Spring was going to be a particularly difficult one for him.

Keith pulled off his bed sheets and hissed as he felt the air hit his skin. It was colder than he expected but he still felt hot. He gasped slightly when he felt his hand wrap around his member and slowly started to stroke. His eyes fell closed as he panted heavily.

“Fuck…” He moaned softly. Keith moved his hand faster as his mind slipped into fantasies about a certain blue eyed wolfhound. He wondered if Lance had ever had sex with a man before. He was bisexual but that didn’t mean he’d had sex with a man before. Keith was gay but he’d never slept with a man.

He wondered how it would feel if Lance was the one touching him instead. His hands were so much softer than his. They didn’t have callous’s or were rough from hard work. They would have been soft but firm. Maybe he would have used lube? Would he be gentle with him or rough? Probably gentle. Lance seemed like the kind of guy that would make it slow and passionate.

Keith rubbed his thumb over the tip of his cock and whined when he slowly smeared his precum over the tip. If only Lance was there with his hot tongue pressed against his cock. His thighs quivered slightly at the thought and he came with a groan.

He laid there in his bed basking in the afterglow for a few minutes. It was probably the first time he’d cummed so hard in his life before… But it was to the thought of Lance… 

“... Mother fucker.” Keith punched his headboard in frustration. The bastard had forced his rut to start earlier than it was meant to. Their ruts were probably in sync now. At least he knew that Lance was probably going through as much frustration as he was.

***

Shiro had kind of gotten used to the way Adam and Curtis were showing him affection. They would come by his house when Shiro was done working with the dogs at the police station. Every day they would bring some food with with him and they insisted that they would cook for him.

In all honesty, Shiro was kind of worried that they would burn his house down. Surprisingly he didn’t have to worry. Adam and Curtis might have been werewolves but they lived on a farm and lived partially on the grid. So they had a better idea of electricity than Keith did. Shiro was concerned that the poor idiot would stick a fork into an electric socket… and he was an adult now.

The werewolves also seemed to like sitting very close to him and nuzzling his shoulder or neck. Kind of awkward, but he could deal with it. Mostly. At least they seemed to back off when they sensed that he was uncomfortable.

At least Curtis did. Adam seemed to linger just that little bit longer before he’d reluctantly move away. They seemed to just enjoy being intimate with their touches. They were very close with each other normally anyway. Shiro had gone into the bathroom and had come out to see the two of them were practically on each other’s laps and nuzzling each other’s necks.

Shiro wondered if his ancestors would be mad at him for getting into this kind of relationship with werewolves? He probably had some aunt or uncle disowned somewhere in his family for messing around with the so called enemy. Even though the sleeping together part wasn’t happening just yet.

While they were watching TV one evening Adam fell asleep while leaning against Shiro’s shoulder. Curtis hummed softly and took off Adam’s glasses, putting them on the coffee table, and relaxed back into Shiro’s other side.

“Hmm, We probably won’t be back tomorrow.” Said Curtis.

‘Yeah? Why?” Asked Shiro.

“Our ruts are probably going to start tomorrow.” He said. “The weather feels right., and if one of us goes into our rut the other one will in a matter of minutes.”

“How long to ruts last anyway?” Asked Shiro. “I never got a clear answer from Keith. He’s always danced around anything to do with ruts.”

Curtis chuckled and shook his head. “Yeah. Well, talking about sex isn’t something people usually do. It’s always been more instinctual to us anyway. A rut cycle usually lasts about two weeks. The first three days are spent as slaves to our hormonal urges and then we’re stuck in a kind of preheat kind of stage for eleven days until out ruts kick in again. It’s really difficult to sync up with someone.”

“... I’m almost afraid to ask, but what happens why you sync up with someone?” Asked Shiro in a worried tone.

With a slight laugh, Curtis shook his head. “Well, Adam and I usually have our cycles synced. And well… We’re pretty much knotted the entire time. As long as it feels good it doesn’t matter.”

Shiro blushed and nodded. “Yeah… I can imagine...”

Curtis smiled and gently squeezed Shiro’s hand. “Don’t worry. We wouldn’t ask you to join us. We aren’t savages… Plus Adam is a biter so…”

“Ah. Alright.” He looked down at Adam. There werewolf seemed relaxed, if not a little sweaty. So normal preheat stuff. He’d been around Keith and the other werewolves long enough to know what was up. He carefully brushed some hair out of Adam’s face. He was handsome and kind of pretty in the right light.

Curtis obviously noticed and grinned. “Just gonna put it out there, but if you eventually feel like you’ve fallen for Adam, he’ll be really happy if you kiss him. He might act like a bit of a deviant, but he’s a real romantic… Out of the two of us I’m the more kinky one.”

“... Good to know.” Shiro’s face was bright red by the end of his little talk with Curtis. At least he was reminded why he didn’t have long term relationships. He was kind of awkward around people during the getting to know each other phase. Now it was doubled. Was polyamory really for him? He still wasn’t really sure.

“... Are you okay?” Asked Curtis as he sat up properly. “Did I say a bit too much? I probably said a bit too much…”

“Y-yeah… Sorry. I’m not used to this kind of stuff.”

“Relationships with werewolves?”

“Relationships in general.” Muttered Shiro. “The last serious relationship I was in was with a guy from my high school. I don’t even remember his name or what he looked like… So this kind of relationship is kind of…”

“That’s fair.” Said Curtis calmly. He hummed and leaned back on the couch and drummed his fingers against his knee as he thought. “How about this; when we go into our rut and we have to leave, see if you actually miss us or miss one of us. See if you feel jealous or envious. If you feel jealousy towards one of us then maybe monogamy is more of your thing and maybe a V style polyamerous relationship is completely off the table? No sweat off our backs. Okay?”

Shiro did feel a little better hearing Curtis say that, and what he said did make sense. If he did feel jealous and couldn’t handle the thought of either one of them being with the other than he wouldn’t be able to function positively in a polyamerous relationship. That seemed reasonable. He was glad Curtis was the rational one out of the three of them.

“That… sound reasonable.” He said. “Thanks. I um, I appreciate it.”

Curtis grinned. “Hey, no problem. This isn’t the first time Adam and I have attempted to bring someone else one of us or both of us liked… Needless to say it didn’t end very well. Jealousy is a horrible thing. Something you want to have as little of as possible in a poly relationship.”

“True…” Shiro absentmindedly ran his fingers through Adam’s hair, slowly rousing him from his sleep. He was too cute.

Adam yawned and rubbed his eyes. “... Where are my glasses?”

“On the coffee table.” Said Curtis.

“Ah, thanks love.” Adam put his glasses on and slowly blinked. “... I thought we were watching a drama? Since when was it a fishing show?”

Shiro glanced at the TV. It was indeed a TV show about fishing. But it was fishing in the Philippines. River Monsters? Maybe. Shiro wasn’t really sure. He’d been too distracted by the fact he had been squished between two werewolves to really notice.

“You’re really tired, huh Adam?” Asked Curtis. “Need to head back home?”

“Yeah… Probably.” Muttered Adam. He sighed and hugged Shrio’s arm. “Don’t wanna go though…”

Curtis rolled his eyes and flicked Adam’s forehead. “Come on. Your rut is probably gonna start any minute now. You don’t want to be here when that happens do you?”

“No…” He muttered. “Bye Shiro. If we don’t come by tomorrow our ruts have started.” 

“It’s okay.” Said Shiro. “I understand. You guys go and do what you need to do.”

Adam made a small happy sound and nuzzled Shiro’s neck. “Thanks for being so understanding.” He and Curtis got up and left Shiro’s property via the gate in his backyard.

Shiro watched the two of them leave and slowly let out a low sigh when he was gone. Curtis’s advice was sound. He could do this. If their ruts really were going in two week cycles then he’d have a few days all Spring to figure out how he felt about this. Both the men were cute and Shiro couldn’t say they weren’t attractive. They were both hot. But physical attractiveness could only go so far in a relationship.

Maybe he was just overthinking everything? Curtis and Adam seemed really chill about it all. Curtis was really sweet and took his time explaining things to him and reigned Adam in when he got too touchy feely with him. Which was actually kind of nice. He liked how close Adam liked to get with him around. He hoped that their ruts weren’t going to start soon. He liked them coming over.

***

Lance felt dead. 100% dead. Why? Well he woke up at about three in the morning when his rut started. How did he know it was his rut? Well, he woke up from a wet dream, where he my or may not have been in the arms of one particular werewolf, and he’d creamed his boxers pretty badly. He’d peeled them off and threw them off the bed only to realise that he was still rock hard and leaking like crazy. So in other words Lance had been stuck in masturbting and trying to calm himself down but with no luck.

He was not prepared for this level of horny. Sure he wanted to fuck before but this was rediculious. Ruts were the fucking worst. He hated it. Just doing this stuff alone was insane. Did the other werewolves had to deal with this? Did Keith have to deal with this?

The thought of Keith completely helpless on his bed going through the same hormonal urges as him was unsurprisingly a huge turn on for him. Keith seemed like the kind of guy that would like it rough. Keith would throw him onto the bed and pin him down. He’d bite his neck and dig his nails into his skin, leaving red lines that wouldn’t fade for days while he fucked into into the mattress.

And with how badly they wanted to screw they would probably do it so many times before their bodies gave out and passed out. Since they were so horny and wanted to fuck so badly, would Lance wake up to Keith fucking him? He really needed to stop thinking about Keith. Every time he did his dick jumped in excitement. Like his lower half was agreeing with all his dirty fantasies.

Suddenly his phone went off and Lance limply reached over and answered it. “H-hello?” He unintentionally panted out. There was a bit of static on the other side of the phone. Something Lance only ever really heard when he was calling Keith. 

Oh lord was it Keith wasn’t it? It had to be Keith, right? Unless one of his friends was out walking in the woods and called him. Oh lord if it was one of his friends he’d set himself on fire. He couldn’t let them know he was an uncontrollable horny mess than just wanted dick… or pussy. He honestly didn’t care fe he was getting his own dick wet of getting dicked down.

 _“... Did your rut start?”_ Yeah, it was Keith. Definitely Keith. Keith had called him and was talking to him. Oh got his voice sounded to wrecked and husky. _“Fucking answer me.”_ He growled.

“Y-yeah.” Whimpered Lance. “F-fuck I’ve been up for hours losing my fucking mind… You do this every year?”

 _“It gets easier after the first few years. At least you didn’t have to deal with high school too.”_ He grumbled.

“Yeah. That’s true… Did your rut start?” Lance wanted him so bad right now. Would it be rude of him to try and booty call Keith? God he wanted to, but Keith had made it clear that he was going to be spending his rut alone.

 _“Y-yeah.”_ Keith panted out. _“Your stupid preheat sped up my rut. Fuck you.”_

If only. “What? My preheat sped up your rut?” Questioned Lance. He didn’t understand how that would make any sense. “... Do you want me to take responsibility or something?”

_“...”_

“... Keith?”

_“...”_

Lance’s heart started to beat quickly in his chest. “You want me to take responsibility?” He wanted Keith to say yes to badly. He wanted him to say yes. It was a three letter word. He needed Keith to say it. He was craving it. “Keith?” He whispered. “Please Keith… I need you… My back door is unlocked…”

 _“Y-you shouldn’t do that…”_ Muttered Keith. _“It’s kind of dangerous… What if a werewolf catches your scent and tries to investigate? You’ll be fucked. Quite literally.”_

“Then come here and protect me from the rest of your pack.” Lance hardly believed he said that. But it was out there. Keith was going to be pissed. He probably was already pissed off at him. Hell, he blamed him for starting his rut early. Lance still had no idea how he did that.

 _“A-are you sure?”_ Asked Keith quietly. _“Two werewolves in heat or like in a rut can be a little dangerous when they cross each other… If our scents are even a little off we could end up fighting instead...”_

“I’m good with hate fucking.” Said Lance quickly. “I just… I need someone. I need you…”

_“... Fuck… Okay. Fine. I’ll be over soon. Might take awhile I don’t remember where my fucking pants got tossed… And I might end up punching someone from my pack in the face if I happen to cross them on the way…”_

“I don’t care. Fuck I’ll meet you half way if I have to.”

He heard Keith moving around over the other end of the phone. It sounded like he was actually looking for his pants. _“No, don’t do that. If someone in our pack sees you we won’t hear the end of it… I’ll see you in a bit.”_

He hung up before Lance could answer. Lance stared at his phone for a moment before realization dawned on him. He had successfully called Keith over for a booty call. They were going to fuck. He looked around his room and saw how trashed it was. He needed to clean up, aka, shove everything under the bed and deal with it later.

***

Keith was about halfway to Lance’s house when he realised what he was doing. He was going to Lance’s place, to fuck. He was going to fuck Lance. Now Keith might have been a storm of hormones but even he knew it was a bad idea to fuck someone he had romantic feelings for. It was also about that time that Keith realised he forgot to put on a shirt and shoes.

“... FUCK!”

“What’s with all the yelling?” Growled Antok as he walked by Keith carrying a dead deer. The older werewolf sniffed the air, pulling a mildly disgusted face. “You’ve hit your rut. Why are you outside? Please don’t tell me you’re going to jerk off outside…”

“No! I-I’m going to Lance.” Growled Keith. He knew Antok wasn’t a threat, but damn it all if he was going to stop him from getting to Lance. He was going to bite Antok’s face off if he tried to stop him.

Sensing Keith’s aggression, Antok seemed to back off a little. He didn’t seem very amused. “I am not going to stop you. Just, don’t do something stupid. Okay? Now get going.”

Keith growled at him and continued to do so as he walked past him and was a safe distance away, then he started running again. He ran as fast as he could towards Lance’s house. When he got to Lance’s place, even though he wasn’t outside, Lance’s scent was everywhere. He stood in the middle of the backyard as the last part of his higher functioning brain tried to reason that this would be a very bad idea. 

He quickly realised that he had lost the battle when his hand was on the doorknob and pushed it open. He was instantly hit with Lance’s scent and if he had any reservations before they were gone now. Keith practically ran to the bedroom where Lance was. He was a lot less embarrassed about being naked in front of him than he was all of the other times.

Their eyes locked for all but two seconds before Keith practically tackled him onto the mattress. Lance wrapped his arms and legs around him and Keith tried to keep him close while he tried to remove his pants.

Lance buried his nose into Keith’s neck and sighed. “S-so this is a rut huh?”

“Yeah… Not as fun as some people might say it is.”

“Yeah… It’s fucking painful.” Grumbled Lance. “A-are we doing this?”

“... I want to.”

“Me too…” Lance pulled Keith down into a passionate kiss. 

He ran his fingers through Keith’s hair and lightly tugged, making Keith moan. That was something new Keith didn’t know about himself. Their makeout session quickly turned into a sloppy mess with their teeth clashing and lightly biting each others lips.

Suddenly Lance pushed him away, his eyes were hazy with lust. “Lube.” He muttered. “We need lube.” 

He crawled out from under him and rolled onto his stomach to grab a bottle of the stuff out of his bedside table. Keith didn’t give a damn about that though since he was able to see Lance’s gorgeous ass. 

“...”

Keith grabbed hold of Lance’s ass and squeezed. Lance moaned softly and became completely submissive under him. What little resistance he might have had, if he had any to begin with, was completely gone. He pulled Lance closer by his hips. As Lance got pulled back he held the bottle of lube over his shoulder. It still had the plastic seal around the cap. It was new.

He quickly opened it and poured some onto his fingers and pushed one inside him. Lance moaned softly and pushed back. There wasn’t nearly as much resistance as Keith expected there to be. He was easily able to push in a second finger along with the first.

“K-Keith…” Moaned Lance as he hugged a pillow. “I-I’m already…”

“Loose? You’ve been playing with yourself?” Asked Keith. The thought of Lance playing with himself made Keith’s dick throb.

Lance nodded. “Y-yeah. Just fuck me. Please.”

He sounded so desperate and needy. Keith pulled Lance’s hips up so he was on his knees. Lance whined a little at the movement, but stayed in the positing Keith moved him into. Keith thought Lance looked so pretty with his head down and ass up, all for him.

He slowly pushed in, both moaning in pleasure as Keith bottomed out. He immediately wanted to start screwing him. Hell, Keith’s legs were quivering a little as he tried to resist just pulling out and fucking him like crazy. Lance was just too hot and tight. It was crazy. I didn’t know someone could feel like this.

Lance whined and started pushing back. “M-move!”

With that bit of confirmation Keith held Lance’s hips tightly as he started to thrust. Instantly a stream of moans fell from Lance’s lips, becoming higher pitched whenever Keith thrusting in at a particular angle. 

Keith leaned over Lance and buried his face into the crook of his neck. He still smelled like the ocean. As he thrusted he reached under Lance and started to jerk him off. He wasn’t able to pick up the same rhythm that he had with his thrusts.

This uneven rhythm seemed to throw Lance off completely and he came in Keith’s hand with a small yelp. The sudden muscle spasm that rocked Lance’s body pushed Keith over the edge and he came deep inside him. For a few seconds they both stayed still while the thought of knotting Lance momentarily flashed in Keith’s mind. 

He instantly felt embarrassed by that since he knew that as a human knotting was impossible, and when he was a werewolf he was much too small to actually knot Lance, let alone be able to mount him. With that embarrassment in mind, Keith pulled out and lied down next to Lance. He held him close and pressed his face into his lover’s back. 

In Keith’s post orgasm clarity he felt shameful. He just thought with his dick and ran after Lance the second he said that he wanted him over. He felt terribly. Lance probably only wanted him over because he was the only werewolf that he really knew. They were both just high out of their minds on hormones.

After what felt like forever Lance finally spoke up. “So does this mean we’re dating?” He asked. “Or is this just a rut thing?”

Keith tensed up a little. He hoped he didn’t screw this up. “I… I wouldn’t mind dating… But if you just want it to be rut thing that’s cool… Fuck buddies or whatever…”

“What do other werewolves do?” Asked Lance. “Is this… is it normal?”

Keith shrugged and nuzzled his neck. “It’s whatever. Lance, we can be whatever you’re comfortable with… I mean, you don’t even like me like-”

“Who said I didn’t like you?” Lance turned around and looked at Keith in pure confusion. “Keith, I really like you. That’s why I asked if we were dating now… But if this is just a rut thing we can do that. I’m okay with it...” He didn’t sound okay with it. He sounded… disappointed. 

Keith needed to quickly fix that. “I-I like you too.” He said quickly as his face quickly went red with embarrassment. “I-I wouldn’t have run over here as fast as I did if I didn’t have a thing for you too…”

Lance’s eyes went wide. “Oh shit! You said you were a virgin right? Oh my god!” Keith grumbled a little and attempted to kill himself with a pillow. He did not need this damn it. However, instead of the sweet release of death, Lance started poking him. “Keith? Oh come on man, I was just a little shocked. I mean, you haven’t been with anyone like that before and I kind of just… I’m surprised… If we weren’t in the middle of our ruts I would have tried to make is special…”

Keith peered out from under the pillow. “Really? Um, sex is just sex. Isn’t it?”

“If it is then why did it take you so long to have sex in the first place?”

“... I guess? … I um, I’m glad you’re my first…” That sounded so stupid and cheesy. Keith wanted to sink into the mattress and die. It was so fucking awkward. At least that’s how he felt.

Lance smiled a little and kissed his cheek. “Well, I’m glad you were my first guy… Maybe when our ruts are over we can go on a date or something?”

Keith didn’t know if he could trust his words, so he just nodded. He couldn’t believe this was happening. Lance actually liked him. He liked him enough to want to actually go out with him and continue having sex with him during their rut. It was surprising to say the least. 

His nod made Lance grin and the other werewolf hugged him tightly. “Awesome… Um, Keith?”

“Y-yeah?”

“Do you um, maybe want to go another round?” He asked while using puppy dog eyes on him.

Keith would have caved in regardless. “Sure.”

Lance grinned. “Cool, but on one condition.”

“Yeah?”

“This time I top.”


	26. Aches and dating pains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All these werewolves are dumb and so is Shiro. Which is pretty much what I have been screaming for several chapters now. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

The next few days were a blur for Keith. He hadn’t been in a rut that intense since he started having ruts. He kind of remembered some stuff, but after the fourth or fifth time he and Lance had sex he kind of blacked out, and that was just the first day. He did remember eating and drinking at some point, but he wasn’t sure what it was. Probably water and bread or something.

Either way, by the end of it Keith felt completely boneless and dead. He didn’t want to get up and when he tried to get up all he could feel was pain in his ass and soreness in all his muscles. Lance was still passed out next to him and looked like a right mess. His body was littered with bruises, bitemarks and scratches.

“... Oops.” He muttered. He felt like they might have overdone it a little and went to go to the bathroom. Keith’s legs decided that working as they should as not an option and Keith fell to the floor. He made an annoyed sound and slowly crawled to the bathroom, though he had to give up crawling for more of a seal like flop.

He eventually made it into the bathroom and was able to pull himself into the bathtub and wash himself. He hadn’t had a bath since they started having sex, so he was and felt pretty gross. After happily soaking in the cold water for about a good half hour he heard Lance.

“Keith?! Are you still here?!” He called in a slightly hoarse voice.

“Bathroom!” Keith called back.

He heard a yelp and a thump, followed by lots of cursing and a series of small, uneven thumps as Lance crawled across the floor to the bathroom. Keith looked over at the door and saw Lance slowly pull himself in. He kind of gave up and collapsed on the tiles. He seemed to enjoy the coolness of the tiles.

“You okay?” Asked Keith.

“Ruts are intense.” Muttered Lance. “I can’t feel my legs or my ass. You’re an animal.”

“... Sorry? Do you want the bath now?”

“You finish up first. I’m going to stay down here for a bit… Maybe drag myself up to sit on the toilet or something? I don’t know… You might want to wash your hair. I think I can see some baby batter in there.”

Keith went bright red and started rubbing soap into his hair. “Baby batter? Really? Christ Lance. The fuck? Why are you like this?”

Lance chuckled and smiled up at him. “And you’re all embarrassed. How cute… So does this mean our rut is over for the rest of Spring? Is it over?”

“Sorry Lance. You’re going to experience about six ruts per Spring.” Said Keith calmly. “It’s going to be like that for the rest of your life. You’ll get used to it… It’ll be fine.”

Lance sighed and pulled himself over so he was leaning against the side of the tub. “Wow… Just wow… This is… What day is it? Last thing I clearly remember is you fucking my throat.”

“... Is it bad I don’t remember that?”

“Eh, you kind of had a very hazed look in your eyes.” Said Lance quietly. “I think any time we were awake we were just fucking.”

“Sounds about right.” Keith rinsed out his hair and pulled himself out of the tub. “Okay, your turn to get clean. You’re all gross.”

Lance pouted and drained the tub before refilling it. “Pretty sure most of my grossness is yours.”

Keith blushed a little upon hearing that. “Shut up… Just get clean.”

While Lance was washing himself, Keith used the sink to slowly pull himself up to his feet. He looked at himself in the mirror and wasn’t surprised to see bruises, bites, and scratches all over his neck, chest, and body. At least the two of them matched now. It felt kind of nice. He felt warmth in his chest as he thought of that.

“Oh!” Gasped Lance. “You’re little nub thing is twitching! That’s adorable!”

Keith looked over his shoulder and down at himself. Yeah, his small tail nub was visibly twitching. He could feel his face heating up. “Yeah? What of it?”

Lance smiled as he leaned against the side of the tub. He had this dopy, love struck look on his face. “It means you love me.” He teased.

Keith rolled his eyes and tried to ignore the burning sensation in his legs from tired muscles. “Yeah, yeah. You love me too.”

“Yep. So how long until our next rut?”

“Eleven days. Roughly.” He found some mouthwash and took a quick swing of that and swished it around his mouth. “So we have eleven days until it all happens again.”

“Huh, alright… So are we going to spend our next rut here or at yours?”

Keith blushed at the thought. “I um… I’ll come back here. You have a bath. I kind of just have a shower so this set up is better…”

Lance nodded in agreement and went about cleaning himself. “Sounds good to me. I’ll be better prepared and get more food and stuff. I am starving.”

“Same. Fucking for pretty much three days straight wears you out. Who’d have thought?”

His lover chuckled and relaxed into the water. “Yeah… Do you have any idea how to use a washing machine?”

“Nope.”

“Can you take the dirty sheets out of the bedroom and into the lounge room? I’ll stick them in there when I have feeling in my legs again.”

“Can do… Also I am borrowing your clothes.” Keith very slowly hobbled out of the bathroom and back to the bedroom. Now that he had calmed down a little and was much more refreshed he was shocked and embarrassed at how destroyed Lance’s bedroom was. It looked like a bomb had gone off in it and it reeked of sex.

Keith quickly removed all the sheets and dumped them in the laundry room before going back to the bedroom, opening the windows, and spraying some kind of air freshener around. Now the room smelled like sex and artificial pine. Gross.

Keith found his pants that he threw across the room when he first showed up and quickly put them on before flopping back down onto the mattress. He couldn’t believe it. He and Lance were dating, and having sex. That was… He was not expecting that at all. At best he kind of hoped they would be fuck buddies and help each other through their ruts, but now they were dating. Keith had no idea how to date. He hadn’t even dated in high school. After he accidentally brought fleas into school that one time everyone made double the effort to avoid him.

And Lance wanted to go on dates. What the hell was he meant to do? Back in high school he had always heard about people boys taking their girlfriends out to movie dates and going to fun places. What the actual hell was he meant to do? That seemed like such a stupid and childish thing… Plus he didn’t know if there were any movies out that Lance wanted to see.

He should probably talk to someone about dating… but he couldn’t really talk to anyone in his pack right now. Everyone was going to be falling in and out of their heats. The only other person he could talk to was Shiro. That was a dumpster fire he did not want to touch with a ten foot pole.

Then again what other adult could he talk to this about this right now that wasn’t busy fucking or would punch him in the face? All he really had was Shiro. This wasn’t good. But he didn’t know what to do. So it was either talk to Shiro or quietly freak out over the concept of dating in between ruts.

***

While Adam and Curtis were away Shiro enjoyed a few days of quiet. No Adam trying to nuzzle up against his neck, no Curtis offering insightful conversation. No Adam and Curtis arguing with each other on how well cooked a steak needs to be for a human, or just talking about the local wildlife in general. Shiro liked listening to it.

He ended up sitting on the couch for many hours just wondering when his couch had gotten so big.He missed sharing it with both werewolves. They were very cuddly and he… He missed them both. He didn’t feel jealous that one of them was with the other. He just missed them. Did this lack of jealousy mean he was okay with polygamy? He wasn’t sure.

Shiro heard a knock at the door and quickly went to answer it. He was hoping to see Adam and Curtis, but also it was just Keith. “Oh. It’s you.”

Keith frowned and gave him a weird look. “That’s how you’re going to greet me?”

“Sorry, I was kind of expecting someone else…”

Keith cocked his head as his frown deepened. “Adam and Curtis?”

Shiro blushed. “J-just get in here…” He ushered Keith inside and quickly noticed that Keith was walking kind of funny. “Did you fucked up your leg or something?”

Keith went bright red. “S-something like that… “Look, you’re the only one I can go to about this…”

“Yeah?”

“... S-so Lance and I are now dating.”

“Keith, that’s awesome!” Shiro was so proud of Keith for finally asking Lance out. Even if it was during a rut… Wait… It was rut season… Keith was apparently dating Lance, and Keith was walking weird. “... Did you and Lance fuck?”

The poor werewolve’s face went bright red. “W-we were both in our ruts!” He squeaked out. “B-but we’re dating now! I don’t know how to date! Help!”

“... And you decided I was the best for dating advice?”

“I know it’s an idiot move but still! Help!”

“Okay, well what-” There was another knock at the door and he walked over to the door. He was instantly hugged by Adam, only to be pulled off by Curtis.

“I told you not to do that.” Said Curtis in a warning tone. 

Adam stuck his tongue out at Curtis. “Well I missed him. Go fuck yourself.” He turned his attention back to Shiro. “Hey Shiro, long time no see.”

Shrio smiled a little and let both werewolves inside. When the werewolves saw each other there was immediately some tension in the room. They growled at each other for a few seconds before Keith relented and quickly glanced away. Shiro just ignored this since this was obviously some weird werewolf thing happening that he didn’t understand.

“What are you doing here?” Curtis asked Keith.

Keith just shrugged and didn’t keep eye contact with them. “I needed dating advice… Lance and I are dating now and I need help.”

Instantly the other werewolves seemed less annoyed that he was here. “Oh okay.” Said Adam. He put his hand and Keith’s shoulder and glared at him. “You know, it’s really not nice to see another werewolf in the home of someone two other werewolves are trying to court, especially during Spring.”

Keith gulped and bared his fangs at him. “Shiro’s like my brother. I’m just asking for dating advice.”

Curtis shook his head and pulled Adam back and glared at him. “Adam, behave.” That just made Adam pout. Curtis ignored him and smiled apologetically at Keith. “So you experienced your first rut of the season too and so did Lance?”

“Yeah…” Keith looked too embarrassed. “W-we’re dating now. I’ve never dated anyone before… I need help…” He let out a tiny whimper which shocked both the werewolves and Shiro. Keith hadn’t made that kind of noise since he was a young teenager. Keith looked like he instantly regretted making that noise when the two older werewolves pulled Keith into a tight hug.

“Movie dates are good.” Said Adam. “You don’t have to talk much to each other.”

“Picnic dates for the more romantic types.” Suggested Curtis.

“Dinner dates are nice. Something a little more fancy than pub food.”

“There are nice swimming holes around here too. Take him swimming.”

“Just going for a walk is nice too.”

“Have him take some Full-moon and brush his coat. Then change it over so he can brush you.”

Keith squirmed and attempted to get the hell away from them but he wasn’t possible. The older werewolves were way too strong for him. He looked over at Shiro for help, but the man just ignored him and went about getting drinks for Adam and Curtis. By the time Shiro hand grabbed them all drinking Keith looked mildly annoyed, but resigned to his fate.

Eventually Shiro took pity on him and walked over to split the werewolves up. Keith was very thankful that he did that and instinctively hid behind Shiro. Adam and Curtis seemed to find this very amusing.

“Aw, we’re just trying to help you out pup.” Teased Adam.

“I’m not a pup!” Whined Keith. “I’ve mated. A lot.”

“So have we.” Said Adam. “Not that special there pup.”

Keith pouted. “I just want to know what Lance would like to do for a date… I am trying to be a good boyfriend here.”

“Taking him somewhere significant to you might be the way to go.” Suggested Shiro. “You are a werewolf. You’re bound to have a few places that mean something to you.”

Keith frowned a little and nodded slowly as he thought this over. “Yeah… I think I have an idea about what to do… I um… I’m just going to leave you guys alone to do whatever… Bye…” Keith awkwardly made his way to the front door and left.

“Well, I think you two sucessfully scared him off.” Said Shiro. 

Adam shrugged. “Well, we didn’t mean to. We were giving him some advice… Anyway, did you miss us?”

Shiro blushed a little and just handed over drinks to the two werewolves. “I um… kind of… H-how was your rut?”

The second he said that Adam smirked and suggestively wiggled his eyebrows. “Oh? You want us to tell you all about it? You’re surprisingly perverted you know?”

Shiro’s face went completely red. “I-I um…”

Curtis rolled his eyes and elbowed Adam. “Stop it. You’re embarrassing him. Our rut was fine. We did the usual rut stuff.”

“Just a lot of sex. So much sex.” Said Adam. “My back hurts.”

Curtis elbowed Adam again. “Anway, how have you been? Has it been quiet without us?”

“Yeah, it’s been quiet… Given me some time to think about how I feel about all this…” Muttered Shiro quietly. “And I um… I think I like you both… Equally… I don’t know. I haven’t done something like this before.”

Adam’s eyes let up. “Does this mean you’re willing to give polyamory a try?”

“Yeah.”

Adam grinned and practically threw himself at Shiro, almost knocking him over. Shiro assumed that Curtis was going to pull him off, but instead the other werewolf joined Adam in the hug. Shiro yelped in shock and the three of them ended up on the ground. The two werewolves were practically jumping all over him like two overly excited puppies. Shiro instantly regretted all his life decisions that lead him up to this point. Maybe he should have just shot them?

Eventually one of them helped pull Shiro back up so they were all sitting on the floor. If Adam had a tail at the moment he knew it would be thumping against the ground like crazy. Curtis looked just as happy, if not a little more reserved than Shiro.

“S-so um… How does this work?” Asked Shiro. “Remember, I haven’t been doing this kind of stuff before so…”

Adam smiled and held his hand. “Of course. The number one thing to remember is that communication is key. If there is something that we do that doesn’t sit right with you for one reason or another just let us know.”

“Since we’re werewolves and you’re human there are bound to be boundaries neither of us will be used to.” Said Curtis. “Like before when we growled at Keith. It was kind of an instinctual thing. He’d growl at us too if we happened to step into Lance’s place so soon after a rut, oh I hope things go well between them.”

“Screw them.” Whined Adam. He leaned forward and nuzzled Shiro’s neck. “This is about us. We should do something to celebrate.”

“L-like what?” Asked Shiro, though he kind of dreaded the answer.

The two werewolves looked at each other for a moment before nodding. “Lunch.”

“Lunch?”

“Yes, lunch.” Said Curtis. “Isn’t there that place down the mountain that does an all you can eat kind of thing?”

“Oh lord we’re going to get kicked out again…”

“Hey, I like crab. Their fault for having a seafood night when I was starving.”

Adam shook his head and stood up, helping Shiro to his feet. “So you wanna take the bus or are we driving?”

“I-I can drive.” Said Shiro. This seemed like a weird way of being welcomed into any kind of relationship, but he wasn’t complaining. If his boyfriends wanted to stuff their faces with food then that’s what they would do. It was weird thinking of them as his boyfriends, but at the same time he really liked it. Maybe this kind of relationship would really work out for him?


	27. Story cave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith is trying to be a good boy and take Lance on a good date... Too bad they are both horny boys... Damn ruts... Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Lance was pretty excited. Sure it was Spring and he was experiencing his reprieve before his next rut and he felt kind of out of it, but he was going out somewhere with Keith. Keith had told him to bring some swimming stuff and go to his house. When he got there Keith was waiting for him. He was putting a rather large bottle of water in his backpack.

“You ready to go?” He asked.

Lance nodded. “Yep. I’m guessing we are going swimming since I needed to bring a towel and some shorts?”

“Yeah. Thought you might like to go swimming since it’s all hot and stuff…”

“I’m always up for swimming.”

Keith nodded and started to lead the way. They walked along a main trail for about twenty minutes before Keith walked off it and traveled through the foliage. Lance wondered where they would end up going. He hadn’t really explored much of the mountain even when he’d become a werewolf.

The werewolf ended up leading Lance to a small waterfall that ran off into small creek that fed into the river. It was pretty. “Is this the place?” Asked Lance.

Keith shook his head and started to take off his shoes. “Nah, it’s behind the waterfall. You’ll need to take your shoes off.”

Lance nodded and copped Keith. He held his boyfriend’s hand as he led him through a small gap in the back of the waterfall The walls were worn smooth over years of people squeezing through the rocks.

His boyfriend lead him into a dark cavern. It too his eyes a few moments to adjust before he realised that that they were standing on the edge of a dark pool of water. Along the cave walls were cave paintings? It seemed to be painted in some kind of white paint. He looked at a faded paw print on one of the walls.

“Keith, where are we?”

“Sacred cave.”

“... Um, isn’t it kind of disrespectful to swim in a sacred cave?”

Keith shrugged and dumped his backpack on a raised bit of rock. “This place has been used for worse stuff in the past… Besides, this is more of a story cave. It’s the story of my pack. Marking major events and all that stuff.”

“Really?” Lance looked around and tried to find the oldest looking painting. He found a series of hand and paw prints near some stalagmites.The paw prints were inside the handprints “... Is this the oldest one? What’s the story?”

Keith wandered over and looked at it. “The first people from my pack that came here. The paw print inside the hand it meant to show that werewolves live here. We are here. This is us.”

Lance nodded a little and kept looking around. “So… What about this one?” He pointed to a painting of some people getting attacked by wolves.

His boyfriend looked at it for a bit and frowned. “Loggers. They came to our mountain and they tried to cut our trees down. We didn’t let them. We scared them off… Kind of killed some, but we chased them off the mountain.”

“Morbid.” He saw another painting that was more elaborate. It seemed to show people and werewolves in… compromising positions. It was basically stick figure, beastiality porn scrawled across the wall. “Um… So… This is… um…”

Keith looked over at what Lance was looking at and blushed a little. “Fertility festival… Spring ruts were um… They weren’t usually as private as they are now…”

“You saying you all just fucked outside?”

Keith went bright red. “It was decades before my time! I didn’t see anything or do anything!” He pointed over at a different painting. “That one’s the Winter Solstice much more PG…”

He was right too. A painted moon was depicted overhead as werewolves and people danced around a firepit. It looked like a party was going on and did seem a lot like the Winter Solstice he had seen before. It was pretty neat. 

“Cool. Tell me more stories.”

Keith looked around for a moment before he pointed to an old cave painting near the ceiling. “This is the story about why we howl at the moon. You remember it?”

“Yeah, I do… Is that a werewolf fighting a bear?”

“Yeah. Basically there was this huge bear.” Said Keith. “Like it was a monster! Gigantic and it used to beat the shit out of everyone. It was taking our kills and making our lives hard. The pack leader at the time, Kolivan’s grandfather, went to challenge the bear and took it down single handedly. The bearskin is hung up on a wall in Kolivan’s cabin. It’s pretty cool.”

“That is pretty cool.”

“Yeah… So want to go swimming now?”

“Yeah.”

Keith nodded and went over to his backpack. He started to strip down and Lance would have been lying if he said he wasn’t staring at him. Who gave Keith the right to be so sexy? It wasn’t fair. He realised that he probably should get changed and he quickly stripped down and pulled on his swimming trunks. Then again, Keith did say he didn’t have any swimming hear right? Did this mean that Keith was going to swim naked now? Were they skinny dipping? 

He quickly looked over at Keith and was simultaneously relieved and disappointed to see that Keith was wearing shorts. However they were bright red booty shorts, with the phrase; IT’S MY DUTY TO WIGGLE THIS BOOTY, printed right across the ass. They looked like they might have been made of the same material that swimming trunks were made of. 

“... Didn’t think you owned a pair?”

“I um… I don’t…” Muttered Keith. “I might have talked to Pidge and she might have stolen this from her brother…” Of course those were Matt’s. He always had clothes with weird slogans on them. Some of the most memorable ones were; Nobody knows I’m a Leasbian, Lick here, and my other ride is your face. And those were just his booty shorts.

“... I need to get you your own pair.”

Keith blushed a little and slipped into the water. “Whatever… I thought you wouldn’t want to see me naked for a while.”

“Why not?” Lance followed him into the water. It was freezing, but nice. It seemed to cool down his whole body and the strange symptoms from his weird down time between his ruts was ebbing away. He’d have to try taking cold baths more often if this was the case.

Keith shrugged. “I’ve always been under the impression that humans were freakishly modest when it comes to being naked in non sexual situations…”

“... Considering some of the shit we did during our rut I don’t think I’m that modest.”

Keith blushed some more and just sunk under the water. Lance sighed and decided to float on his back for a bit. The ceiling of the cave was covered in stalactites and dots of white paint. They looked like stars. It more than likely was stars. It was beautiful.

He smiled a little and closed his eyes. It was nice. Keith had taken him to a really important werewolf place. This meant he was really part of the pack, right? He hoped so. He wanted to be part of the pack. His eyes snapped open at that thought. Did he really want to be part of the pack? Well yeah he did, but still...

A pair of hands grabbed his sides and pulled him down. Lance flailed, turned around and glared at Keith. Before Lance could say anything Keith spat a mouthful of water at him and grinned. “Got ya.”

Lance gasped and splashed him back. “Rude!”

Keith chuckled and splashed him back. “Says you.”

Lance huffed and splashed him back a few more times. “Ass.”

Keith stuck his tongue out and dived under the water. Lance quickly followed him. He was surprised to see the water was much deeper than he thought it was. Lance watched Keith swim down all the way to the bottom and sift through some of the sediment that had settled at the bottom of the pool.

“...” Lance swam down and lightly pushed his head in retaliation for spitting water at him and splashing him.

Keith rolled his eyes and swam back to the surface. Lance followed him, but just a little bit behind him because Keith has one fine ass. Especially finer in booty shorts. He really shouldn’t… But damn Keith was irresistible in booty shorts. Just as Keith breached the surface Lance reached up and quickly hooked his fingers under the elastic under Keith’s shorts and yanked them down off his legs. He then quickly swam away with them while Keith yelped in surprise.

Lance swam over to the other side of the pool and held up the booty shorts like a trophy. “Ha!”

Keith was almost as red as the shorts. “Asshole!” He quickly swam back over to Lance and tried to get them back. Lance just grinned and swam away from him. “Give those back!”

“But you look good without booty shorts.” Called Lance as he swam away.

“Why are you like this?” Whined Keith. “One second you’re all embarrassed about people being naked around you and now you’re fine! Why are you like this?”

“You’re too easy to rile up.” Cooed Lance. He quickly swam to the edge and tried to pull himself out. He didn’t have enough momentum to pull himself out on the first go and instead ended up laying over the edge with no leverage to pull his legs up. Which gave Keith enough time to grab hold of Lance’s legs by his thighs.

“Got you.” 

“Yeah, yeah. You got me and-” Lance felt Keith sink his teeth into him. Not enough to make him bleed, but enough to leave a mark. “-Did you just bite my ass?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“It’s right in front of me and so I bit it. Why would you rather I bite your thigh? They already have enough bite marks on them.”

Lance couldn’t help but blush. After their rut he did notice he did have a lot of bruises, hickies, and bite marks all over his thighs and hips. Keith really did seem to like his thighs and butt. Not that he could blame him. His ass and thighs were out of this world.

“Give me back my shorts.”

“No.”

Keith snapped the elastic on Lance’s shorts, making him yelp. “Hand them over.”

“Make me.” Lance kicked his legs as best he could, but with Keith’s iron grip on his thighs the best he could so was wiggle and kick from his knees. Keith didn’t like this and bit his ass again while digging his nails into Lance’s hip with his free hand.

Lance gasped a little as his boyfriend did that. He was quickly coming to the realisation that he kind of liked being roughly handled by his boyfriend. He felt a little bit of warmth starting to creep down and pool in his hips. Would Keith be able to tell he was getting turned on by this? Was his body just overly sensitive because it was Spring? Keith did say they had about five more ruts to go.

He let out the smallest moan and Keith immediately froze. ”...”

Lance’s face went bright red. “Um…”

Keith slowly started to pull down the elastic of Lance’s shorts. “... You want to?”

“Um, we aren’t in our ruts at the moment… Also, isn’t this a sacred werewolf story cave? Isn’t it like, bad luck to fuck in the story cave? I don’t need to get cursed by some wolf spirit thing.”

“Considering the story cave was where some werewolves would get high I’m pretty sure no ancestral werewolf spirit’s going to come down and curse you with crotch rot for doing something natural. Also, werewolves can fuck outside of their ruts… Besides you smell good.”

Lance went bright red. “W-well I kind of figured werewolves could mate outside of their ruts… Wait, what was that about crotch rot?”

Before Lance could ask anything else, he felt Keith squeeze his ass cheeks and sweep his tongue across his puckered hole. Lance let out a weak moan as his legs went limp. He pouted a little at that and shuddered when Keith did it again.

“W-why is th-this happening?” He whined. 

Keith paused. “Because you like it when I eat your ass?”

“No not that. The second you do anything my stupid body just goes submissive.” Huffed Lance. “I don’t get it and I hate it.”

“Path of least resistance?” Suggested Keith. “You want to feel good and your body instinctively knows if you stop fighting you’ll get what you want? I don’t know.”

Lance pouted. “Stupid body. Working against me.”

“You’ll be more incontrol of yourself once Spring is over. Even between ruts it’s not unusual to just be horny. You don’t need to be embarrassed.” He started licking again. He circled his tongue around the tight ring of muscle and teasingly pressed in.

Lance moaned softly and decided to just give into all the pleasure Keth was providing him. With the way Keith used his tongue Lance was still shocked that Keith was a virgin before all this. It felt amazing how riled up Keith could get him.

Suddenly Keith pulled himself up and Lance felt the weight of his boyfriend press against his back. He whined a little and raised his hips slightly. “You want me to pull you out of the water?” Purred Keith. “Pull you out and fuck you raw in here?”

“Y-yeah!”

Keith grabbed Lance by the hips and pulled him out of the water. Lance quickly got onto his knees While Keith settled behind him. He felt Keith’s hands run up his thighs and across his hips. Lance closed his eyes and sighed contently as he felt Keith’s body press him down. 

He sighed as he felt Keith’s hands run down his arms and over his hands. Suddenly Keith grabbed the shorts out of Lance’s hand and moved back. But he moved back so fast he ended up falling into the water with a loud splash.

Lance quickly sat up and looked over at Keith. He looked triumphant as he held the red shorts above his head. “Ha! Got them back!”

“...” Lance let out a small whine. “Really? You did that just for the shorts?”

Keith shrugged. “Well kind of… I mean… I wanted the shorts back….”

Lance whined some more and refused to look away from him. “You’re mean…”

“...” Keith swam back over to him and got out of the water. “Lance? Look at me? Please?” Lance reluctantly looked at him and Keith quickly kissed him. “I’m sorry. Can I make it up to you?” He did look genuinely sorry.

“... Fine.” Lance spread his legs. “You got me riled up. You take responsibility.”

“Okay.” Keith got between Lance’s legs and started licking his cock. He slowly licked up Lance’s cock, swirled his tongue around the head and started to bob his head.

Lance moaned softly and ran his fingers through Keith’s hair. He was way too good with his mouth. He was a natural. Maybe he was just used to using his mouth more than the average person since he was a werewolf and needed to pick things up and move them with his own mouth? Maybe, it seemed reasonable.

Suddenly Keith pushed forward and Lance stuttered when Keith swallowed around his cock, pressing his nose up against his abdomen. “H-holy shit!”

Keith glanced up at him before he started to swallow and hum. He was working his cock like he’d been doing it for years. Lance’s thighs spasmed and he came in Keith’s throat with a cry. Keith moved back and coughed a few times. Saliva mixed with Lance’s cum dripped down his chin. That mixed with Keith pretty flushed face made him look a million times sexier than he should have.

“Damn… That was… Wow…” Said Lance breathlessly. “I still have no idea how you’re so good with your mouth when you’re supposedly a virgin.”

Keith shrugged. “Does giving head count as sex?” He asked as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

Lance went red and started sputtering. “Y-Yes! Have you never heard of oral sex? What the fuck man!”

His boyfriend chuckled. “I’m joking Lance. I guess I’m just naturally talented with my mouth? I mean, I was one of the few people in my school that could tie two cherry stems in my mouth when that was a big thing.”

“... You what?”

Keith shrugged. “What? Like it’s hard?” He sighed and pulled the shorts back on. “Gotta admit I didn’t expect this to be how today was going to go. Eating ass and sucking dick in the story cave.”

“Didn’t expect that either but the world is a strange place.”

“Indeed… By the way, tonight you might want to give three howls to the moon.”

“Why?”

“Some ancestral werewolf spirit might not come down and curse you with crotch rot, but the moon might.”

“... You’re joking, right?”

Keith shrugged and got back into the water. “You can not howl if you want. Not my problem if you get cursed.” He dived under the water, leaving Lance on the edge.

“... Keith!” Lance whined. “You can’t just do that to me damn it! I don’t know if you’re making fun of me or if my dick’s really gonna fall off! … You can’t stay down there forever! You have to breathe sometime!”


	28. Spring time fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smutty in the start, not as smutty at the end. Tiny times skip in the middle, like a few weeks, but hey whatever. I am pretty sure there was a plot around here somewhere at some point? This is just devolving into a smut fic. lmao. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

When their next heat hit the boys were better prepared. Lance had several boxes of protein bars and many, many bottles of water stocked up in his bedroom. Keith had brought over several cuts of meat from a deer and a few rabbits. Sure it was raw and they wouldn’t have the mental clarity to actually cook it, but it was a good source of protein and it was the thought that counts.

When it hit again both boys were watching a movie on Lance’s couch. They stared at each other for a few brief seconds before they threw themselves at each other, almost completely destroying the couch in the process. Clothes were quickly tossed away, claws dug into flesh, and a bottle of lube got spilled across the floor.

Which wasn’t a problem, until the third round when Lance had Keith bent over the coffee table. Lance had moved his foot slightly to get just a little more leverage, but ended up slipping in the lube. He ended up falling forward and slamming hard into Keith, making him yelp as Lance landed hard on top of him. On the plus side they both came again and had enough post sex clarity to make their way back into the bedroom.

The second they got there Lance pulled Keith close and practically shoved his tongue down his throat. Keith moaned into the kiss and the two of them tumbled onto the bed. They hit it particularly hard and both laughed when they realised what had happened.

Lance grinned and ran his fingers through Keith’s hair. “Ha, you know, it isn’t that bad the second time around.”

“Told you ruts get a little better… But I guess it’s easier to get used to when you have a partner?”

“I guess so.” Lance kissed Keith again, a little less passionate than before. More loving… But his brain and his mouth had a slight disconnect at the moment. “Have you ever used a pocket pussy?”

Keith seemed to be taken aback and very confused. “I’m gay?”

“What? Yeah I know that. But you know, a pocket pussy. It’s like a flesh light.”

“Don’t you mean flash light?”

“No flesh light. It’s a sex toy.”

Keith stared at Lance like he was an idiot. “There’s no adult shop on the mountain. My phone is a fucking Nokia. The really old one. I don’t get internet on it. I couldn’t even order something even if I tried. There isn’t even an internet cafe up here.”

“Ah, right.” Of course Keith wouldn’t have access to those things. If Keith had a pocket pussy or a flesh light he probably would have had a much easier time during his rut. Hell Lance was going to break out his own pocket pussy and screw that into oblivion. 

He leaned over Keith and reached into his bedside table. While he did this he felt Keith’s hands running over his body. His mouth quickly made it onto Lance’s chest. Keith’s teeth grazed Lance’s nipples.

Lance shuddered and quickly moved back as he grabbed what he needed. “No biting those.”

Keith pouted slightly and poked his chest, flicking his nipple again. “But they are just there, begging to get some attention.” He saw the weird looking pink flesh tube in Lance’s hand and frowned. “... What’s that?”

“A pocket pussy. Can I show you how it works? I think it’ll make you feel good.”

Keith stared at it and frowned. He seemed to be contemplating if it actually would feel good or not. But he was quickly getting a hazy look in his eyes. His rut was starting up again. “Y-yeah. Do it… How does it work?”

“Let me show you…” Lance poured some lube into it and quickly covered Keith’s cock with the same. He whined and bucked into Lance’s hand. It made him chuckle a little and put his hand on Keith’s hip, trying to keep him down. “Calm down.” He very slowly pressed the opening of the toy against Keith’s dick. 

His own breath caught in his throat as he watched Keith bite his bottom lip as Lance slowly moved the toy down his shaft. Keith tilted his head back and let out a low moan. “F-fuck…”

“Feels good huh?” Purred Lance into Keith’s ear and his slowly started to jerk him off. Keith whined and thrusted into the toy, trying to get Lance to move his hand faster. Lance happily complied and moved his hand faster, drawing out all kinds of beautiful gasps and moans with a twist of his wrist. “Good boy.”

Keith whined and pulled Lance down into a rough kiss. They managed to move around a little so they were laying more on their side. It made it easier for Lance to lift Keith’s leg and lazily fuck him while using the pocket pussy on him. Keith whined louder as he scratched and bragged at the bedsheets.

It didn’t take long for Keith to cum again and consequently, Lance came inside Keith. They stayed still as they panted heavily. Lance smiled a little and lightly nuzzled Keith’s neck. “How was that?”

“If I…” Panted Keith. “If I had one of those... my life would have been so much easier…”

Lance chuckled and kissed his neck. “I can get you one if you like?”

“That’d be nice.” Mumbled Keith as he tried to stop yawning. “... Need a nap.”

“Yeah, and I need some water.” He carefully pulled out of Keith and grabbed one of the many bottles of water he had stored in the bedroom. He looked down at Keith and smiled fondly at him. He still couldn’t believe that Keith was his boyfriend. It was unbelievable to think that someone as amazing as Keith could love him. He lay down next to Keith and sighed heavily. He was pretty tired too, after going four rounds. He quickly fell asleep.

***

The two other werewolves in their cabin were lounging around after another one of their own passionate rounds, but once the high dissipated Adam was sulking. He’d been sulking ever since in between their rounds of sex. Curtis knew why Adam was in such a sour mood, but they couldn;t really do anything about it.

“Come on Adam.” He said. “Shiro’s still new to all this. He doesn’t want to just suddenly jump into this. I’d be hesitant too if was was a human and two werewolves both wanted to screw me. Just let him get used to us.”

“I just want him around.” Whined Adam. “He doesn’t even have to have sex with us right now. I just like having him with us.”

Curtis hummed a little and ran his fingers through Adam’s hair. “I know love. But you can’t force these things. I want Shiro to be intimate with us too… He’s nice. I really like him.”

“Yeah…” Adam sighed and leaned into Curtis’s hand, giving him a sad look. “Curtis?”

“Yeah babe?”

“I’m hungry and I miss Shiro…”

Curtis chuckled and flicked Adam’s nose. “Well too bad. I’m not going to try and call Shiro and ask him to come here just so you and eat him up.”

Adam rolled his eyes and tried to adjust his glasses. “What? You trying to do the whole big, bad wolf thing? Shiro would make a cute woodcutter.”

“Oh? You don’t think he’d be little red riding hood?”

Adam rolled his eyes. “Nah, he’s more of a woodcutter. I can just imagine him busting in, swinging an axe and just going to punish the big bad wolves.”

“You have some weird danger kinks You know that right?”

“Choke me daddy.”

“... Call me daddy again and I’m slapping you.”

“Oh, you gonna spank me?” Curtis sighed and pushed Adam out of the bed. Adam landed on the ground with a thump. He let out a small, indignant whine. “Why do you do this to me?”

“Because you are an insatiable horn dog.” Said Curtis. He yawned and stretched. “Well, I’m going to take a piss before this post orgasm clarity vanishes and I just want to fuck again.” He got off the bed and walked past Curtis, making it to the bathroom.

When he came back, Adam was back on the bed and sulking again. Curtis rolled his eyes sat next to him. “Adam, please stop pouting. We’ll see Shiro in a few days. He’ll be really happy to see us again and you know it. The full moon will happen soon too, and it won’t be when we’re in the middle or our rut so we’ll be able to spean it with Shiro. I’m sure he’ll like us being around then. We’re basically big dogs pretty much.”

Adam hummed a little. “Yeah… I guess so… Okay… Still miss him…”

“I know babe. I know.” Curtis kissed him again and ran his hands over Adam’s chest. “Ready for another round?”

“Always.”

***

By the third time their ruts hit, Lance felt like he had gotten used to it. At least when it came to experiencing heats when he was a human. It was a whole other ball game when it was the full moon. His sense of smell went up by what felt like a million degrees and he couldn’t help burying his nose into Keith’s fur.

Thankfully Kolivan had made sure everyone knew that going on runs was optional and should only be done by werewolves that had either just finished their previous rut or weren’t pregnant. Lance was pretty thankful neither he nor Keith was female, since he was pretty sure they would have been knocked up by now. Either way he and Keith weren’t going on a run. Their ruts had just finished the day before the full moon so they weren’t going to try and screw each other.

Still, Lance happily sniffed, nuzzled, and licked Keith every opportunity he could. For Keith’s part he didn’t seem to be too annoyed by it. In fact, he tried to nuzzle and bury his own face into Lance’s fur.

 _“You smell so good.”_ Muttered Lance as he pressed his nose against Keith’s side. _“Like trees, and earth, and just the forest in general.”_

Keith hummed and nuzzled Lance’s arm, the only thing he could reach at this point. _“You smell like the ocean and tropical fruit.”_

_“Hmm, yeah?”_

_“Yeah. I like it.”_ Keith sat up and licked Lance’s muzzle. _“... You know I’m really glad we aren’t in heart right now. You’d kill me with your dick… I think I’m as big as your dick right now anyway?”_

_“... Is it bad I kind or want to See if that’s true?”_

_“Pervert.”_

Lance gasped in fake shock. _“Excuse me? So rude. How could you? So mean.””_

Keith rolled his eyes and moved around so he was curled up against Lance’s stomach and away from his nose. _“Quiet you. I’m here now.”_

 _“Keefy!”_ Whined Lance.

Keith glared. _“What do you want Bambi?”_

Lance whined louder and flopped onto his back. _“I can walk normally now! I’m not Bambi!”_

_“That’s not what your microchip says.”_

Lance let out an indignant noise and was about to say something when they heard some movement outside. Lance’s ears perked up and he looked around. _“What was that?”_

 _“... I don’t know.”_ Muttered Keith. He attempted to get up onto the table in the dining room to see what was going on in the backyard. Lance grabbed Keith by the scruff of his neck and helped him onto the table. _“Thanks.”_ Keith looked out the window, pressing his nose against it, fogging up the window a little. _“I think that’s Curtis?”_

Lance looked out of the window and wagged his tail a little. It did look like the dire werewolf. He looked like he had caught a deer and was dragging it along. _“Yeah, that’s him. Should we go and say hi?”_

_“... Do you want to? Can you even open the door?”_

_“I can open the window!”_ Said Lance excitedly as he jumped up and pressed down on the window latch, swinging it open. Lance grinned at his achievement and jumped out. _“Curtis! Long time no see!”_

Curtis looked surprised, but he happily wagged his tail as he dropped the deer. _“Hey Lance. Is this your place? Didn’t realise I was so close. My muzzle’s kind of caked with fresh blood right now so I couldn’t smell it. Sorry.”_

Lance shrugged. _“It’s fine. You’re not really intruding. Where’s Adam?”_

 _“He’s with Shiro right now.”_ Said Curtis. He sighed and sat down to scratch himself. _“Adam’s been sulking about not being with Shiro for the whole Spring. So I’m giving them a little alone time so I could go hunting. Want some deer?”_

_“... Yes please.”_

Curtis pushed the carcass towards Lance, and Lance happily took a few bites. While he was doing this Keith walked over to them and kind of glared at him. _“Hi Curtis.”_

The dire werewolf happily wagged his tail as he looked down at Keith. _“Hey there. Should have known you two would have been together. I keep forgetting you’re so teeny tiny.”_

Keith huffed at him. _“I’m not teeny tiny!”_

 _“Keith’s fun sized.”_ Said Lance.

 _“I will bite you.”_ Grumbled Keith.

Curtis laughed and shook his head. _“Aw, you two remind me of me and Curtis when we first got together.”_ He had a nostalgic look on his face. _“Adam used to be considered more of a nerd in our pack since he enjoyed reading more than chasing greased pigs around like the rest of us. His glasses kept slipping off.”_

 _“Greased pigs?”_ Questioned Lance.

 _“We grew up in a farming town. It was either chase greased pigs or go cow tipping.”_ Said Curtis. _“He really came into his own around puberty. He became one fine werewolf… But he was a snappy little shit. Still is. Just like Keith.”_

 _“I’m not snappy!”_ Snapped Keith. He looked down at the carcass and sniffed it a few times. _“... You gonna eat off of that?”_

_“Feel free to have some.”_

Keith stuck his head into the bite wound Curtis made earlier, possibly to kill it, and struggled to pull out some meat. His entire head was coated in blood. Without even thinking Lance quickly went and started licking Keith’s head in an attempt to clean him. 

Keith whined and tried to wiggle away from Lance, be he was kind of stuck between Lance and the carcass. He didn’t really have much room to move, so he was kind of stick while Lance groomed him. _“This sucks…”_

 _“Well don’t get so bloody when you eat.”_ Said Lance as he continued to lick him. _“Gotta keep your coat clean.”_

 _“He’s right you know.”_ Said Curtis. _“Gotta keep your coat all clean and shiny.”_

 _“Fuck off Curtis.”_ Grumbled Keith.

Curtis chuckled as how grumpy Keith was getting. _“Okay. I should probably head back to Shiro’s. Adam’s likely to try and lay on top of Shiro and crush him.”_ He picked up the deer and happily wandered off.

When he was a hair distance away, Keith huffed and walked back to the open window. _“Lance, I need some help here.”_

Lance happily obliged. He grabbed Keith by the scruff of his neck and happily tossed Keith back through the open window. Keith let out a surprised yelp along with a string of curses. Lance just wagged his tail and happily jumped back in after him.

***

When Curtis got back to Shiro’s place he dumped the deer down in the backyard. He then went back inside and found Shiro sitting on the floor with a hairbrush. Adam looked very pleased while Shiro happily brushed his coat. Curtis had to admit, Adam’s coat his look very shiny.

_“He’s doing a good job.”_

_“Thanks.”_ Adam looked over at him and his nose twitched. _“Oh, so you went hunting?”_

 _“Yep. Caught a deer. It’s outside if you want some.”_ He walked over to Shiro and licked his cheek and neck. _“Hey Shiro. Did you miss me?”_

Shiro shuddered a little when he was licked. “Hey Curtis… You smell like blood. Please tell me you didn’t drag anything back into my yard…”

 _“... It’s fine. Just don’t go outside.”_ Muttered Curtis as he licked his cheek again.

Shiro just hummed and kept brushing Adam while Curtis rested his chin on Shiro’s shoulder. Shiro hummed a little and scratched behind Curtis’s ear. “I’ll brush you next when I’m done with Adam. Just a few more minutes.”

 _“Take your time.”_ Said Curtis. He looked over at Adam and wagged his tail some more. _“Enjoyed your alone time with Shiro?”_

 _“Yeah.”_ Said Adam. _“Shiro’s a god with his hands… I’d totally give him a blow job in return for doing this if he’d let me.”_

_“You know, most normal humans aren’t very comfortable with the idea of something with a dog face licking their dick.”_

_“I hear your claim and I raise you one furry community.”_

Curtis cringed a little. _“They’d prefer anthro werewolves anyway. We’re dire werewolves… I don’t think Shiro is interested in us that way when we look like this anyway.”_

_“Never know if we don’t ask.”_

Shiro finished brushing Adam and got up. “Okay, all done.” He collected the loose fur and dropped it into the bin. “Just give me a few minutes and I’ll brush you. My hand’s cramping.” He sat on the couch and flexed his hand a few times. 

Adam got up and shook for a few seconds. He seemed to enjoy his new fluffy, shiny coat. He rested his head on Shiro’s lap and wagged his tail some more. _“Fuck, you’re sexy… Take your clothes off already.”_

 _“... God damn it Adam.”_ Grumbled Curtis. _“Why are you so thirsty when you’re a werewolf?”_

_“Because it’s more socially acceptable for me to think with my dick when I’m like this. Don’t judge me you overly horny ass. You were the one that continued to pound me after I passed out.”_

_“You said you were fine with it!”_

While they were arguing Shiro took off his prosthetic and rubbed his stump. “Ergh… I really need to get a better one someday… So can you guys like, not argue with each other? Please?”

Curtis jumped up onto the couch and nuzzled him. _“Sorry Shiro. We’ll be nicer to each other.”_

Adam nodded in agreement. _“Yeah, let me get this for you.”_ He grabbed Shiro’s prosthetic arm happily went to drop it off in his bedroom.

Shiro just sighed and relaxed on the couch. “Thanks Adam.” He looked up at Curtis. “Want me to brush you now?”

Curtis shook his head and leaned against Shiro. _“Nah. It’s fine. Let’s just relax tonight.”_ Shiro hummed a little and re-positioned himself so he was actually laying down on the couch.

When Adam came back in he saw his boyfriends all cuddly and happy on the couch together. He huffed and attempted to join the two of them on the couch. _“Move over.”_ Whined Adam. _“Or at least move enough so I can stick my face near his dick.”_

Curtis responded by rolling his eyes and pushing his face away with his paw. _“And you wonder why I say we can’t have any content with Shiro when we’re in a rut.”_


	29. Spring festival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stuff happens and then some things happen. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

By the end of Spring when everyone in the pack had either finished their heats and ruts or were going to go through their last one, Kolivan started getting people together to get ready for their fertility festival. Granted it wasn’t really like how it supposedly was in the old days. Everyone was just going to have a huge barbeque.

From what Keith had heard a few people had actually gotten pregnant this year. So there was a good chance there would be new additions to the pack this year. That made him happy. Despite his cold exterior he was always friendly with his pack.

Lance was also excited by this as well. “You think some of them will stay on the mountain or will they go out of state?” He asked as he helped Keith with the firepit out the front of Kolivan’s house.

Keith shrugged as he readjusted a stone. “Maybe. This isn’t really done to have a romantic partner or anything. Like, if love comes out of it that’s good. But some werewolves just want to get knocked up and go home, or knock someone up and go home. We’re a little more whatever about that kind of stuff. We just need to keep records about who knocked who up.” 

He gestured over to Ulaz. The werewolf was sitting on a chair with a notebook in hand while talking with a few werewolves. Some of them were standing side by side with their hands linked while others were less intimate. Ulaz kept all the records when it came to pregnancy in their packs since he was pretty much their doctor. It was really easy to tell when someone was pregnant too. Their scents just changed and everyone just become hyper aware of them.

The same things happened with humans too. They just didn’t have a good enough sense of smell to tell. It had been a bit of a hassle for Keith in high school. There had been a few teen pregnancies in his year and he was always alarmed when he saw them in gym doing anything he thought was too strenuous for a sixteen or seventeen year old human female to do. Seriously a lot of these girls were sticks and really didn’t have the physique to safely have a baby and it concerned him. 

Lance nodded a little and sat on one of the rocks. “So what happens now?”

“Well, once we know who is fathering who we’ll just have a party. Lots of food, some drinking all that good stuff.”

“Um… Pregnant women shouldn’t be drinking…”

Keith rolled his eyes. “No shit. We have juice.”

“Okay… Hey, what do you do when you guys have kids but like, no humans?”

“Well since anthro werewolves have thumbs they just stay at home and take care of the kids.” Said Keith. “If they don’t have a partner they can just rotate with a few close friends… It’ll be nice to have some kids in the pack.”

Lance smiled at him. “Yeah. It’ll be nice… You know where Kolivan is?”

“Meat locker.” Said Keith. “In the basement. You can get in around the back. Why?”

“I um, I just want to talk to him about some stuff. Since he’s like the pack leader and all that.”

“Ah, okay… Well if you need to talk to him I’ll just be here.”

Lance smiled and kissed Keith’s cheek. “Thanks Keith. I’ll be back in a minute.” He got up and walked to the back of the house. 

Keith watched him go and sighed sadly. Over the Spring they had grown extremely close. Obviously they were close to each other in a physical sense, but he did feel like they were also emotionally connected if that made sense. Either way he kind of felt that maybe their relationship could last past the Spring.

“Think fast!” Called Regris as he took a light swing at Keith with a stick, lighting swatting his ass. Keith yelped in surprise while Regris just grinned. “Told you to think fast.”

Keith pouted and glared at him. “Fuck you too.”

The older werewolf chuckled and tossed his stick into the firepit and smiled at him. “I think your boyfriend would be mad at me if I did. Who would have thought you’d fall for a townie?”

Keith shrugged and kicked Regris in the shin. “Shut up. I got more ass than you did this season.”

“You can get all the ass you want. I got pussy.”

“Huh, so are you a dad now?”

“Yep.” He waved over at a girl from the out of state pack. She smiled and waved back at him. “She’s really cute. She’s a domestic. A German Shepard.”

“Are you guys going to like, get married or something?”

“We’re just talking about it at the moment. We’re thinking long distance at the moment. She likes the quiet of the mountain but wants to be with her family for the birth. Which I’m cool with.” Said Regris. “When she’s closer to her due date I’ll head over to her place. If things don’t work out between us I at least want to be there for our kid.”

“Sounds nice.”

“Yeah.” He smiled a little at Keith. “Anyway, you and Bambi?”

“Yeah.”

“How did you guys do it when you were werewolves anyway? Did he like just, hump your back or something?”

“...” Keith grabbed a branch off the ground and started chasing Regris around trying to beat the shit out of him. Regris just laughed and ran away from the younger werewolf.

***

The meat locker in Kolivan’s basement was extremely cold, and possibly the most modern piece of equipment Lance had seen in any of the cabins. It was pretty interesting. He looked into the walk in meat locker and saw Kolivan looking between different cuts of frozen meat. 

He glanced over at Lance and nodded at him. “Lance.”

“Kolivan.” He nervously stood in the doorway. “Um…”

“Do you need to say something to me?”

“It was more of a question if you don’t mind?”

The older werewolf nodded and turned, so his attention was fully on Lance. “Yes?”

“... So um, I was talking to Keith a while ago about how outsiders join packs and stuff and I um…”

“You want to officially join our pack?”

“If you’ll let me I’d like to…”

Kolivan stared at Lance for a bit. Lance felt himself shrinking under his gaze. He was starting to doubt what he asked. Maybe it was too soon? He felt bad for asking. Maybe he could just say he was joking and quickly leave? That would be fine, right? No real problem if he just-

“Okay.”

“Huh?”

“If you want to be part of our pack you can be.”

Lance was shocked. “Seriously?”

Kolivan nodded and went back to looking through the meat hanging off hooks and lined on shelves. “Yes. After the fertility festival we’re going to see if anyone from the other pack wishes to stay here. We’re going to have a welcoming ceremony to bring them into the pack. You can join them.”

“Oh. When’s that?”

“First full moon after the last heat. Everyone will be ready by then.”

Lance nodded a little and nervously moved from foot to foot. “... Um… Thanks.”

“Hmm?”

“For letting me be part of your pack.” Said Lance quietly. “I um… I didn’t expect you guys to be so open and accepting of me… I’m not a natural werewolf like you guys. Heck, I’m not even a natural born domestic werewolf.”

Kolivan frowned a little and walked over to him. He put his cold hand onto Lance’s shoulder. “Lance, just because you weren’t born a werewolf doesn’t mean you’re any less of a werewolf. Granted we were a little upset as how you became a werewolf since we have a strict rule about not forcing anyone into becoming a werewolf, but we all know it was an accident.”

“Keith’s really regretful about that… But honestly? I’m glad he bit me.”

“Oh?”

Lance nodded. “Yeah… I um, I kind of liked Keith before he bit me. But I didn’t really know how to get close to him. I mean, I got close to him when he was a Pomeranian and I didn’t know it was him, but I was happy when I knew it was him.” He smiled a little at that. “Maybe Keith would have eventually started liking me if he kept coming to see me when he was Keefy? I think he liked me because I was feeding him steak and stuff.”

“Possibly… I’m glad it all worked out for you two.” He removed a frozen slab of meat off the shelf and held it out to Lance. “Well now that you are here, you can help me move this into the kitchen to defrost.” He dropped it into Lance’s arms and he almost fell over. Kolivan chuckled in amusement and moved past him. “Come on. Don’t be lazy.”

Lance whined as he walked up the stairs and followed Kolivan towards the kitchen. It was the first time he had ever been inside the pack leader’s cabin. It was spacious to say the least. The kitchen was as big as a modern one and looked immaculate. Well, compared to Keith’s kitchen anyway. It looked like a big medieval style.

“Wow…”

Kolivan looked over at Lance and hummed a little. “Oh yeah, you haven’t been in here before, have you?”

“No sir.”

He seemed to find amusement in Lance’s formality. “The cabin was built by my ancestor. George Aspen. It was expanded upon by his kids and his kids, kids.”

Lance nodded a little as he kept looking around. “It’s really nice. Very homey.”

Kolivan nodded and took the meat from Lance, slamming it onto the table. “Back in the day, when we first came here, the whole pack could fit in the dining room. It worked well for the first few years as more of the pack grew up and made it to the mountain. We’d all work together to make cabins in the Summer and Autumn… These days we have power tools so things are easier and a few of us can make a cabin in a few weeks.”

“That’s pretty cool.”

Kolivan nodded and went to grab a meat clever. He startarted to hack away at the meat with ease despite it still being frozen. Lance didn’t know if he should be impressed or horrified. He felt that it would destroy the knife.

“The Aspen clan was a very prosperous pack back in the day. At our peak we were five hundred strong. Our pack has dwindled a lot since then…”

“Yeah… So is your last name Aspen?”

Kolivan shook his head. “No. My grandfather was from a different pack. My grandmother was an Aspen.”

“Ah, okay… Do you um, want me to do anything else or?”

“In the dining room there is a rectangle blue stone laying out there. Antok left it out there when he was sharpening his own knives.” Said Kolivan. “He always leaves his stuff laying around.”

Lance nodded and quickly retrieved the stone from the dining room, which just looked just like an old banquet hall. It had the long table and benches instead of chairs. Though at the head of the table was a chair made from wood and antlers. This was probably the pack leader’s chair. Kolivan’s chair. It was super impressive. About halfway down the table Lance found some rusty knives, rags, polish and the blue stone. He quickly grabbed it and went to give it back to Kolivan.

“Is this it?”

“Yes it is. Thank you.” He took the stone from Lance and started running his knife across it. “... So Lance…”

“Yes?”

“Do you really wish to be a part of our pack?”

Lance nodded. “Yeah. I do.”

“The initiation is a little tough, even for a natural born werewolf… And I know how the kids are these days with everything being so PC and women need to be treated equally to men… But I hope you understand when I say if we are initiating any new female members we will be giving them a less stressful initiation.”

“Huh? Why?”

“The first month or so is very important.” Said Kolivan calmly. “The whole point of this Spring was for people to have children. Why would we do something that might harm the mother and child? Some of them are already two months pregnant. Heck, some got pregnant after their first heat.”

“Ah… Fair point.” The more Lance thought about it, the more his mind kind of just jumped from thought to thought. He blamed his possibly undiagnosed ADHD for that. “So… What if a woman kind of… She doesn’t want to you know?”

Kolivan shrugged. “Ulaz has a few remedies for that. But anything after six months you’ll need to go to an abortion clinic for… or you know, maybe a strong push down a very steep hill?”

“... I can’t tell if you are joking or not.”

“Antok has told me I have a very dark sense of humour and my delivery is usually very dry. It makes most of my attempts at humour very difficult.” Said Kolivan as he finished sharpening his knife and went back to hacking at the meat. “But seriously after six months it’s either pop the baby out or find a human doctor that will remove it. We wouldn’t even consider removing it ourselves unless it seriously put the mother in danger.”

“Huh… I honestly didn’t think you guys would be so… You know?” Lance awkwardly gestured at nothing. “Like, you guys seem to be a little concerned about having babies? Keeping the population alive? Wouldn’t you like... be anti abortion? Your species is kind of screwed if you don’t?”

Kolivan shrugged. “The death of our species is neither good nor bad. It’s just a thing. We are all conscious beings that can make our own decisions. Even if all werewolves were to suddenly die what would the real consequence be?”

“Um…”

“The sun would still rise.” Said Kolivan. “The sun will still set. The seasons change. The snow will fall. The snow will melt. Everything living is temporary. If werewolves have lived a good life then their passing will not affect anything at all.” He smiled a little at Lance. “Our priorities and ideas about living are a little different from humans. While we do appreciate the things humans have done to improve and make living a little easier, we prefer a simple life.”

“Yeah, you guys kind of do. Real return to the earth kind of guys.”

Kolivan nodded in agreement and cut off a thin piece of meat, offering it to Lance. He took it and ate it. It was still kind of frozen. “We are.a relatively simple people… Do you think if you do become part of our pack you’ll be able to adopt some of our ideals?”

“... Um, I’ll try?” Lance wasn’t really sure what all of the ideals of the pack were, but he didn’t hear anything that he really rejected to. He could adapt. Maybe. Probably. He hoped so.

“Good.” Kolivan started sharpening his knife. “You can go back outside now. I’m sure Keith has gotten into some kind of trouble by now.”

Lance smiled a little and headed outside. Along the way he happened to see a bearskin on the wall. Possibly from that story that Keith told him about? More than likely. He opened the door and was greeted with the image of Keith trying to swat Regris out of a tree with a branch.

“... Seriously? Oh my god…” Lance walked over to his angry lover and carefully tried to drag him away.

***

When the fertility festival finally happened every werewolf was there. It reminded Lance a lot of the Winter Solstice but during the day and with slightly less drinking. Some of the women in the pack were comparing bumps. Though only the women that became pregnant right at the start of Spring were showing any real bump. 

Lance stood back and watched a few people making face paint out of some chalky rocks. When they made it they went over and started to paint paw prints on their faces an chests. Some of the women painted small paw prints on their own stomachs.

He lightly nudges Keith’s side. “What’s with all the body paint?”

Keith frowned a little and looked over at the people painting each other. “A bit of fun really. Why? You want to get painted?”

“... Maybe.”

Keith smiled a little and walked over to where the people were making paint and got a small bowl with a white pasty material in it. “You want me to paint your face or your chest?”

“You guys want a brush?” Asked Ilun.

“We’re good.”

“Um, just do what you think looks good?”

Keith nodded a little and quickly gave Lance a once over before he decided to paint a paw Lance’s bicep. “Feel like part of the pack yet?”

Lance shrugged. “Kind of? Kolivan said I’d have to go through some initiation thing first.”

“Initiation?” Keith looked very confused.

“Yeah? Kolivan said there would be some initiation thing. Didn’t you know this?”

“Well kind of?” Keith frowned a little as he thought about this. “It’s usually just a ceremony type thing… But we’ve pretty much only had women come into our pack, and even then the last time that happened was like three years ago… You’re meant to like, drink from some ceremonial bowl thing and that’s it… I have no idea what Kolivan’s going to plan for it this time if he’s calling it an initiation rather than a welcoming ceremony.”

“Ah… Fun…” Now Lance was kind of worried. “So um… You want me to paint you too? Like, just a paw print?”

“Sure.” Keith took off his shirt and pointed to his chest. Lance smiled and painted a paw print onto his chest. Right above his heart. Keith smiled down at it. “You’re good at this.”

“My art skills extend past latte art.” Said Lance with a grin.

Ilun hummed a little as she looked at Lance’s handy work. “Huh… Hey Lance, want to help us paint some small paw prints on other people?” He gestured over to some of the women sitting in the grass painting each others arms and stomachs. “It’ll be a little while until the meat’s cooked properly.”

He glanced over at Keith who just shrugged. “I’m going to see if Shiro’s making an appearance today. You have fun.”

“Okay. See you soon love.” He quickly kissed Keith’s cheek and followed Ilun over towards the other people. He smiled at them and sat down. “Alright ladies. Who wants to get painted first?”

***

Keith found Shiro relatively quickly. He was leaning against a tree with Adam and Curtis near him. They all seemed happy enough. Keith was thankful about that. He was a little worried that things might not have turned out well for them, but things seemed to be fine.

“Hey you three.”

Shiro smiled at him. “Hey. You glad Spring’s almost over?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.” Said Keith. “Some freaks might think fucking someone uncontrolably all Spring might be fun, but it’s tedious and stupid and really isn’t fun when you need a full day to recover…”

“Truth.” Said Adam. “Curtis and I were running around for ages trying to take care of Shiro after our last rut.”

Shiro went bright red as he hit Adam’s arm. “Shut up.”

Adam just chuckled while Curtis shook his head. “The things I have to put up with.”

Keith just awkwardly nodded at them. “Alright… This was all more than I really needed to know…”

“How are things with Lance?” Asked Curtis. “He seems happy.”

Keith looked over at Lance who was still paining people and some were painting him. He could hear him laughing and joking with other people. He was fitting in really well with everyone. It was like he had been part of the pack for years.

Suddenly Kolivan started ringing a bell. “Alright everyone! Come and get it!”


	30. Initiation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, my internet is kind of borked at the moment. It's taking forever to even load the home page for Ao3. So updates are gonna slow down a lot while it's getting fixed. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Having two boyfriends was an interesting balancing act and a bit of a challenge for Shiro. He tried to spend time equally with both of them, but he found it kind of difficult because Adam was surprisingly social and loved spending time with Shiro. Curtis on the other hand, liked his solitude. Shiro felt like he wasn’t giving Curtis the attention he deserved and felt guilty about it.

Then there was the drama about his bed. Sure he had a king sized bed, but it didn’t comfortably fit all three of them. The only way it really could fit all three of them was if one of them was spooning someone else. Which kind of sucked for Shiro since he usually ended up in the middle of it all and was thus almost always the little spoon. Not that it was that bad, but it was really hot in Spring. His air conditioning wasn’t that good.

At the moment Shiro was sitting on the couch with Adam while Curtis was out doing something else. In his mind, Shiro had been calculating how much time he had spent with Adam and how much time he should be spending with Curtis. So far he felt like he needed to spend about seven hours alone with Curtis to make it even with Adam.

This didn’t know if this was something he should be worried about, but he just wanted to have a good relationship with both of them. He liked them both and just wanted them to like him. He knew that they liked him, or they wouldn’t have asked him to be part of their relationship. He was just overthinking.

Adam hummed a little and ran his fingers through Shiro’s hair. “Are you okay? You seem a little tense.”

“I don’t know... Just a little stressed or something.” Muttered Shiro. “Sorry.”

“Hey, don’t be like that Shiro. What are you stressed about? Is it about me and Curtis possibly moving here?” Asked Adam. “We know your home is a little small for three adults, but we can talk to Kolivan about building our own cabin. Curtis and I can also hunt our own food so it won’t cost too much for us to live together.”

“No it’s not that.” Said Shiro quietly. “I just... I don’t know if I’m spending enough time with Curtis.”

“Oh?” Adam gave him a concerned look. “Why do you say that?”

Shiro shrugged. “I just... I don’t feel like I’m paying him enough attention.”

“Oh Shiro...” He smiled warmly at his lover and kissed him softly. “Curtis isn’t as extroverted as I am. He likes having some down time alone. Just because you don’t spend as much time with Curtis as you do with me doesn’t mean you love him any less. You can’t equate love with time.”

“I know... I’m just trying to figure out how to make this work.” Admitted Shiro. “I’m just so unsure about myself. I don’t want to do something wrong and you both end up leaving me.”

“Shiro...” Adam smiled at him reassuringly. “I know you’re doing your best for the both of us. We both love you dearly. If you want to spend some alone time with Curtis I’m more than happy to let you guys do that.”

“... Thanks for not making me feel stupid.”

“Good. You aren’t stupid.”

Curtis opened the front door and walked in. “I’m back. I got ice cream. You two okay?” 

“What kind?” Asked Adam.

“Vanilla.”

Adam grinned and quickly went to grab it. “Mine.” He kissed Curtis’s cheek and quickly whispered something to him. They shared a knowing look at Adam walked away with the ice cream.

“... Where is Adam going with that?” Asked Shiro. “I am mildly concerned...”

Curtis shrugged and sat next to Shiro. “Not a clue. Now... We haven’t spent a lot of time alone together. Adam’s usually around us huh? He does love attention.”

“Yeah. He does... Then again wolves are generally pack animals. We do enjoy being around our family groups.” Said Curtis. “Adam has three siblings. Wny time we’re at a family gathering and he sits down he at least one or two of them will be there and leaning against him, and then well, he kind of gets lost under twenty or so of his nieces, nephews and cousins. His family is spread out to three or four packs in our state.”

“Huh, what about you?”

Curtis shrugged. “Not as many him, but we are close family unit. My older sister moved to a different pack to be with her husband.”

“Oh, that sounds nice.”

“Yeah. They were high school sweethearts.” 

“That’s nice.”

“Yeah.” Curtis smiled softly at Shiro. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around much over the past few days. Adam’s infatuated with you and I thought it would be best to let him get it out of his system.”

“Ah, okay.” Shiro still felt a little guilty.

Curtis seemed to be able to sense his unease and held Shiro in his arms. “Don’t feel bad. Okay? We’re just getting into the groove of things. Figuring out how this is all going to work is going to take time. Please don’t get stressed about it.”  
“I’m trying not to...”

“Good.” Curtis kissed him gently. “You gonna come with us to show up some support tonight?”

“Oh right, that’s tonight.” Tonight was the first full moon after everyone’s rut had ended which meant they were going to bring others into the pack. While Adam and Curtis weren’t technically joining the pack because they decided they wanted to be with someone from the pack, Shiro did live on the mountain and it was in their best interest to join Kolivan’s pack. “You think Kolivan will let me?”

“Possibly. I guess it depends on what we need to do to join the pack?” 

“You think it will be tough?” Asked Shiro. 

“Whatever you have to do?” 

“Not a clue. Should be fun though.”

***

Lance was nervous as hell. He couldn’t stop pacing around as he and Keith walked towards Kolivan’s cabin. The moon hung high in the air and the sound of insects was rampant. Lance was whimpering.

Keith watched his boyfriend nervously walk from tree to tree as they made their way along the path. _“Are you okay?”_ Asked Keith. _“You don’t need to be so freaked out you know.”_

_“I know but... What if I fail this initiation thing?”_ Asked Lance. _“Will Kolivan kick me off the mountain? I don’t want to get kicked off the mountain.”_

Keith walked over to him and attempted to nuzzle his leg. A feat only a small dog like him could muster. _“You’re not going to get kicked off the mountain... And even if that happened you know I’d go with you, right?”_

Lance was surprised. He looked down at his lover. Keith had a very serious look on his face. It made him look more adorable than he already was. Then again Lance always thought that Keith was a huge cutie when he was a pomeranian.

_“Really? But you hate leaving the mountain.”_ Said Lance. _“Aren’t you like, afraid of leaving the mountain or something?”_

Keith nodded. _“I’d rather leave the mountain with you than stay in a pack without you.”_

_“... Thanks. That actually makes me feel a little better.”_ He leaned down and licked Keith’s forehead. Keith made a small indignant noise, but accepted it. It was a cute noise. Keith was too cute for words some days.

When they got to Kolivan’s home there were several werewolves standing around. They were painting white stripes through the fur of a few other dogs. They seemed to be the new initiates. Krolia came over to the two of them with a bowl of white paint. She wagged her tail as she crouched in front of them.

_“You boys excited?”_ She asked. 

_“Anxious is more like it.”_ Muttered Lance.

Krolia hummed thoughtfully. _“I guess that is probably a reasonable reaction. Now sit. I need to pain you.”_ Lance did as he was told and sat as Krolia painted his back, face, and arms. It felt weird having the paint run through his fur that way. It was like that time he accidentally got some of his mud mask in his hair.

_“Do you know what Kolivan’s going to do?”_ Asked Keith.

_“Hmmm, can’t say.”_ Said Krolia. _“He’s kept it very quiet. More people are  
joining the pack this year so he needed something bigger.”_

Lance whined. _“I’m not even a proper werewolf. I’m just a domestic that got bitten a few  
months ago! I’m gonna die...” _

Keith and Krolia simultaneously rolled their eyes. _“Baby.”_

Lance was mildly offended. _“Not a baby...”_

He looked around the pack and noticed Shiro standing a bit off to the side with Adam and Curtis. The dire werewolves were also painted and looked very happy with their situation. They were wagging their tails and happily circling around Shiro in a playful manner. It seemed like they were there for the initiation too.

Suddenly Antok’s booming voice rang out and everyone scrambled to attention. He too had paint on his face but it made him look more like a skull. _“Welcome everyone. We’re all gathered here tonight to see if these werewolves are worthy to join us as pack members!”_ The pack started to howl in excitement. Antok raised his paws to silence them. _“All new members follow me. Everyone else, stay here.”_

The werewolves walked over towards Antok. Lance was a little hesitant, but moved when Keith gave him a little nudge. _“Go on. I’ll be waiting here. You can do it. I believe in you.”_

Lance gave him a weak smile and followed the rest of the other wolves behind Antok. They traveled up to a higher point on the mountain. He took them into a cave where Kolivan was waiting. He also had paint face that looked like a skull.

_“So...”_ He growled. _“You all want to be a part of our coven? Do you think you’re worthy? Answer me!”_ The werewolves gave a small round of nervous yips and whines. Kolivan chuckled. _“Alright. If you want to be part of this pack you must prove yourselves.”_ He held up a dead rabbit and a flower. _“All men must bring back a dead rabbit before the moon falls. All women must bring back one of these flowers. If you can’t do that then you will not be welcomed into the pack. Bring it back to the cabin when you have what you need. Understood?”_

The werewolves nodded and made a few nervous sounds. The tasks might not have sounded difficult, but they knew that it might be made more difficult since it seemed so easy. Everyone quickly ran out to get their item. Lance quickly ran down and into the bushes before he stopped dead in his tracks.

Keith had taught him many things about being a werewolf and fitting into his pack... However, there was one thing Keith never taught him. Keith had never taught Lance how to hunt. Just how to walk and how some scenting worked. He didn’t tell him shit about how to track, stalk, or hunt his food. He didn’t even know how hard he was meant to bite a rabbit to kill it.

Lance let out a distressed sound as he flopped onto the ground. He was fucked. He was totally fucked. Was this meant to be easy for him? Was this meant to be some kind of instinctual thing that they all knew how to do? He didn’t know. He was going to fail.

_“Are you okay?”_ Asked Adam. _“You don’t look too good.”_

_“I don’t know how to hunt.”_ He whined.

_“Oh... How? You’re a werewolf? How have you not hunted before?”_

_“I was busy learning how to walk! Please help me!”_ Pleaded Lance. _“I don’t want to get rejected! I want to be part of the pack!”_

Adam took pity on Lance and gestured for him to follow. The werewolves walked through the scrub. Adam crouched down and so did Lance. _“First rule of hunting;”_ said Adam, _“Forget all your human instincts. When you hunt this isn’t a game. It isn’t a sport. This is life or death.”_

_“Life or death. Got it.”_

Adam nodded and laid as close to the ground as possible. _“You have to be faster than your food. You have to predict their patterns. If you can’t do that you will starve. If you starve you will die.”_

_“Got it.”_ Lance crouched down and looked around the woods. He had to be smart. He had to be quick. He could do this. Maybe. He hoped.

_“Good. Now the next lesson is the most important.”_ Said Adam quietly. _“Yeah?”_

_“Go for the neck.”_ Adam suddenly shot forwards and grabbed something in his jaws. There was a sickening crunch and the smell of blood filled the air. Hanging limply from Adam’s jaw was the body of a dead rabbit. He dropped it onto the ground. It was missing its head. _“Like that.”_ He said. _“Crushing their head is good too. You have to take down your food quickly. Giving your food a quick and relatively painless death is the least a werewolf can do.”_

Lance gulped a little as he looked between Adam and the dead rabbit. _“So um... Can I have that one?”_

_“What? No. It’s mine. Get your own rabbit.”_ Adam quickly picked up the rabbit and ran back to Kolivan’s cabin. His initiation was complete.

Lance whined a little more. He couldn’t do this. He was a domestic werewolf. Just some dull and pathetic thing that wasn’t even born a werewolf. He was just bitten. But he really wanted this. He wanted to be a part of the pack. A part of Keith’s family. He needed to try and go full wolf for him. He could do this if he tried.

***

Keith was starting to get anxious. He quickly found out what they needed to do to become a few werewolves were coming back with flowers and rabbits. Keith hadn’t taught Lance how to hunt yet. He could fail this. He actually could and that scared him. Keith didn’t know what would happen if Lance failed the initiation.

“It will be okay.” Said Shiro as he patted Keith. “Lance will be back soon. He can do this.”

_“Easy for you to say.”_ Grumbled Keith. _“Your boyfriends know how to hunt. Lance doesn’t... Fuck, why did I not think teaching him how to catch rabbits was a good idea?”_

There was another round of cheering and howling as another werewolf came back with a rabbit. This time it was Adam. He dropped off his rabbit into the pile of other dead rabbits. The werewolves howled and cheered in excitement. They patted him on the back as he made his way through the crowd back towards Shiro.

He wagged his tail excitedly and jumped up. He put his paw on Shiro’s shoulder and licked his face. _“I did it! I’m part of the pack now!”_

Shiro stumbled back a little as he tried to balance holding Keith and Adam’s weight. “Good job Adam. Now we just have to wait for Curtis.” He out Keith down and sat on the ground. Adam immediately leaned against him and happily thumped his tail against the ground. Shiro just scratched behind his ears.

Adam made a very pleased sound. _“You’re so good to me... Keep this up and I’m gonna knot your cute little ass.”_

Keith glared at Adam. _“Eeeeeeeeew.”_

_“Oh hush you. Shiro doesn’t understand me.”_

There was another round of howls as Curtis and another werewolf came back with their items. Curtis happily trotted over towards Adam and Shiro, quickly nuzzling them both. _“Hey there cuties. Miss me much?”_

Shiro smiled and gave Curtis a few pats. “Good job. I’m glad you guys managed to do it. I’m proud of you two.”

_“Proud enough to let me knot you?”_ Asked Adam.

Curtis rolled his eyes and lightly hit Adam with his tail. _“Oh, so you can talk dirty when Shiro can’t understand you, but as soon as you’re just human you become tongue tied? Weirdo.”_

_“Let me have this.”_ Whined Adam.

Keith rolled his eyes and started walking towards the front of the pack. It had been a few hours. Lance would be okay. Right? He could bring back a rabbit… Maybe… Keith was starting to get distressed. He was an idiot. He didn’t teach Lance to hunt. He failed him. If Lance didn’t bring back a rabbit he wasn’t going to be allowed into the pack. He didn’t want that to happen. Lance needed to be a part of the pack. He just had to.

After a few hours everyone had returned with their items except for Lance. Keith was getting nervous. He anxiously paced around the pile or rabbits and flowers. He wasn’t the only one getting nervous. There was unease with the rest of the pack. Everyone knew that Lance wasn’t the best werewolf out there, but he should have been able to catch a rabbit.

_“Do you think he’s okay?”_

_“Do you think he got into trouble?”_

_“Have any townies left any traps out?”_

_“Maybe a rabbit was too tough for him?”_

_“I hope he’s okay…”_

Krolia walked over to Keith and sat by him. _“It’s almost morning…”_

_“I know… He should be back by now… What happens if he doesn’t make it back in time?”_ Asked Keith.

_“He’ll have to try again next year.”_ Said Antok. He didn’t seem very happy about this either. Everyone quite liked Lance. He might have been accidentally turned, but he was nice to everyone and proved himself an important member of the pack. If anything, Keith would get in trouble again for being an incompident teacher.

Keith whimpered a little and tucked his tail between his legs. He had failed him so badly. Everyone would hate him if Lance failed. Hell, Keith would hate himself. Kolivan might get someone else to teach Lance how to be a real werewolf. He wasn’t a real one. Not a proper one. Not like everyone else. He was a failure.

_“It’s an hour until sunrise!”_ Called a wolf. Everyone was worried.

Suddenly there was a rustling as Lance quickly trotted towards the house. He had a rabbit in his mouth and looked exhausted. Keith happily wagged his tail. Lance did it. He caught a rabbit. Lance quickly put it on the pile and sighed in relief. The rabbit then quickly jumped up and ran for its life.

_“... Um… No one said it had to be dead?”_ Offered Lance.

Kolivan sighed a little and shook his head. _“Close enough…”_ He clapped his hands together. _“Everyone has passed the initiation! Let us all welcome our new brothers and sisters into the pack!”_

Keith wagged his tail and jumped up as best he could to try and lick Lance’s face. _“You did it! I can’t believe you did it! Lance! Holy shit!”_

Lance wagged his tail and lied down on the ground next to him. _“Yeah… Rabbits are fast…”_

_“Why didn’t you kill it?”_

_“I was too scared to…”_ Admitted Lance. _“So I just grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and hoped for the best…”_

_“... You’re an idiot.”_ Said Keith. He walked up to Lance’s face and licked his nose. _“But you’re my idiot. Welcome to the pack.”_  
.


	31. Pizza toppings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well with their ruts over and stuff it's time for Summer stuff to happen. Consider this the calm before the storm... Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Lance was very excited about being a proper werewolf with a pack now. Everyone else in the pack was a lot friendlier to him now. They would smile at him a lot more in town and actively go out of their way to talk to him. His new found popularity wasn’t missed by his friends.

It was just a normal day where Hunk, Pidge, and Lance were just hanging out when they happened to bump into Regris. They talked for a few minutes before he walked away. It made his friends raise their eyebrows.

“What?” Asked Lance.

Pidge shrugged. “You and Keith banging must have put you in good with the bush people.”

Lance went bright red. “Excuse me? Keith and I do not bang… We make love.”

Hunk and Pidge cringed. “Too much info there buddy.” Said Hunk as he patted Lance’s shoulder. “So you two are a thing now? Like, a real thing? You’re dating?”

Lance grinned. “Yep. Keith is my boyfriend and I’m like an honorary member of their group. Glad to know everyone likes me.”

Pidge rolled her eyes. “Your one saving grace; everyone likes you.”

“Aw, you think everyone likes me? Yay!” Lance hugged Pidge and felt his tailbone tingling like crazy. He was so happy.

Pidge flailed slightly and tried to push him away. “I swear if you were an animal you’d be a golden retriever on crack or something.”

Lance laughed at how close she was to the truth. “Aw really? That’s cute. What do you think Hunk?”

Hunk shrugged. “Well you like swimming. Maybe a fish? A dolphin?”

“Seal.” Said Pidge. “Best of both worlds. Both a dog and a fish. They are the dogs of the sea. A sea pupper.”

“Agreed.” Said Hunk. “Speaking of water, the pool’s supposedly done with their renovations. They have a new water slide. You guys want to go?”

“Hell yeah!” Said Pidge. “I’m totally ready for it. You ready for it Lance?”

“Hell yeah I’m so ready for that.”

“You gonna invite Keith?”

“... I’ll ask him, but I don’t think he will.” Said Lance. “Keith gets really anxious when he’s off the mountain. The shops are pretty close to the mountain and the pool is like, an hour away… I still have no idea why he doesn’t like leaving the mountain...” 

Pidge looked surprised. “Really? You don’t know about the fires?”

“The fires?”

Hunk shrugged. “To be fair Lance only started living on Mount Altea about… Five years ago. He wasn’t around when the fires happened.”

Pidge frowned and found that answer reasonable. “Ah, I see… Well a few years ago there was a huge wildfire around here. It made national news. Mount Altea was one of the few places that didn’t get hit. Keith’s dad was one of the seven firefighters that died.”

“Oh…” Well that explained how Keith’s dad died. He did kind of wonder about this, but he didn’t really want to ask. It seemed too personal. “So um…”

“Planning to go to the pool.” Said Hunk. “New slide. Summer starts tomorrow. Gonna have fun.”

“Right. Yes. Pool stuff.” Said Lance. Lance happily started talking about all the new things happening at the pool. He really hoped that Keith would want to go with them, but he doubted it. In fact, what was Keith even doing today?

***

Keith was trapped. He had been just doing some gardening when he heard some tiny trills around his feet and he saw them. A mother skunk and her surfeit of four kits. He couldn’t move an inch or he’d get sprayed. They sniffed his shoes for a good five minutes before the other skunk made some noises and the surfeit quickly ran away into the bushes.

Keith left out a relieved sigh. Once again he had survived being sprayed. He was surprised that he didn’t notice the little family earlier. They must have been living close by. Once he found out where their little home was he would put out some berries and grubs by it. They were like pets but not pets… Stray cats. They were like stray cats.

He finished up gardening and took out his notepad. He had a list of things he needed to do by the end of the week to make up for the time he spent with Lance over the Spring. Not that it wasn’t fun, he really loved every second he had spent with Lance, but he really needed to fix up his cabin.

**Things to do;**   
**1) Plant radishes, bell peppers, and Summer squash**   
**2) Find crack in wall**   
**3) Test water tank**   
**4) Lay pegs in ground for bedroom extension**

It was a good list. A simple list. He’d be able to do that within the week. He’d already planted this season’s vegetables. So he just had three things to do. It made him smile a little to know he was well on track with his goal of fixing up his little homestead.

“Hey Keith.” Called Thace. He had a few dead rabbits and chickens tied to his belt.

Keith nodded at him. “Afternoon. What’s with the chickens?”

“Unfortunate, but some of them stopped laying. I’ve kept them around for a few extra months to make sure it wasn’t stress or something, but no. The girls were just done. Had to get rid of them. Want a few?”

“... Yeah, alright.” He took a few chickens off Thace and strung them up on a hook near his door. He’d grab them before he went inside. 

Thace looked over Keith’s cabin and hummed a little as he saw the cleared patch of dirt near the side of his cabin. “You planning on doing an extension?”

“Yep. My room is kind of small and I want to have a bigger bed and just a bit more room for clothes and stuff.”

“For Lance?”

“... Maybe.” Muttered Keith. “I don’t think he really wants to stay living out here with us. He grew up as a townie. I don’t expect him to abandon that life, so yeah… This is just so he can stay over if he feels like it.”

“You gonna end up moving into town with him?”

“Maybe… I don’t know. Seems a little early to do something like that.”

“Never too early to move in with your boyfriend.”

“Then why haven’t you and Ulaz moved in together?”

“We’re friends with benefits. Not boyfriends.” Clarified Thace. “We help each other out during our ruts.”

“Yeah, sure. We all see how you two look at each other.” Keith grabbed a stick and started drawing lines in the dirt. “You think this is big enough?”

Thace pouted a little, but nodded in approval. “Yeah. Looks about right. When are you going to start construction?”

“Next week. I have a few trees around here I need to clear away anyway so I’ll put them to good use. Antok is helping me make a new bed frame.”

“You have enough money to get a new mattress?”

“Yeah. I do… Kolivan’s going to drive down and get it when the bed frame and the extension is done.”

Thace nodded. “I see… Well if you need any help just give me a heads up and I’ll come over.”

“Thanks… Do you have any house building tools? Like that shovel thing for poles and stuff?”

“Regris has it.”

Keith sighed loudly. “Guess I have a long walk ahead of me.”

‘Looks like it.”

Keith sighed louder. “... Oh by the way have you reinforced your chicken coop?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I saw a family of skunks run by here. They might go after them if you aren’t careful.”

“Fair enough. Damn little stinkers.” Muttered Thace. He sighed a little and scratched the back of his head. “I’ll look around and see who has all the power tools you need. I think they got spread out a little around the mountain…”

Keith nodded. “Yeah. Kolivan has the chainsaws, Ilun has the good cordless screwdrivers, and Verk has the nails gun and the cement mixer.” He paused as he thought about everything for a moment before he nodded. “Yeah… I think that’s all I need. I have some hammers and I can get some clay from the river.”

Thace smiled. “You look like you’ve got it all sorted out.”

“Well, I did build most of my cabin by myself.” He patted the wall. “I can reuse most of the logs from here for the walls, and I’m trading my mum a deer for some left over shingles for the roof. Still looking out for windows… I’ll probably end up saving any money I can scrape together to buy a window… A nice one that I can push open…”

“If you’re doing so much for Lance you should just ask him to move in.”

Keith shook his head. “Not possible at the moment… By the way, what’s the time?”

“Um, almost midday. Why?”

“I’m going to have a quick shower and then I’m going to meet up with Lance and his friends for lunch.”

Thace nodded and started to walk off. “Okay. See you later Keith. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“Will do.” Keith took his chickens back inside and went to shower. 

When he finished washing off all the grime and filth Keith went and got changed into some clean clothes. Clothes that Lance had bought him when they went off the mountain. A pair of dark jeans and a clean, dark red shirt. He liked how his new clothes looked on his body. It was nice to have some clothes that didn’t have stains he couldn’t get out. No grass, grease, or miscellaneous stains he didn’t know how they got there.

He quickly pulled his hair back into a ponytail and looked himself over in the mirror. It looked kind of nice. He smiled and tied his hair back. Keith felt pretty good about himself. He looked good and felt good. Hopefully Lance would like him too. Of course he would. The lanky werewolf loved him no matter how he looked.

He walked into town and nervously walked through the restaurant area. They didn’t see Lance, but he knew that Lance would come by eventually. He perked up a little when he saw Pidge walking out of a shop with a paper bag slung over her arm. She was quickly followed by Lance and Hunk.

She saw him and grinned. “Hey Keith!”

“Hey Pidge. Good to see y-oof!” Keith almost had the wind knocked out of him when Lance went in for a hug. He chuckled a little and patted Lance’s back. He knew that Lance was probably wagging his tail at the moment. Well, only if he could. Keith knew his own tailbone was tingling.

“Hey Keith.” Said Lance. He pulled back a little and smiled brightly at him. “You clean up good. Are those the clothes we got from the mall?”

“... Maybe.”

“You look good in them.” He kissed Keith’s cheek, making the man blush, before he held Keith’s hand and tugged him over towards his friends. “So where do you guys want to go?”

Pidge shrugged. “We literally have three lunch places on the mountain. You want Burgers, some Italian thing, or the pizza place… Then there’s Grizzly’s of course.”

“Hmm, I think Keith should choose.” Said Hunk. Keith was a little surprised to hear that Hunk wanted him to choose. Hunk shrugged. “You don’t come out here to eat very often.”

“True… You guys okay with pizza?”

Pidge grinned. “Hell yeah. I’m always a slut for pizza.”

The group walked into the pizza place. Keith wasn’t really sure what to get, so he left that to Lance and the others while he chose his own drink from the fridge. He decided that since this was pretty much a treat he’d go and get something beside water or juice. He grabbed a can of cola for himself before sitting down at one of the tables in the place. Pidge came over a few minutes later with drinks for everyone else.

“Sup pizza slut?” She asked.

Keith raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know if being called a pizza slut is an upgrade from being called a bush person.”

She shrugged and opened her can of drink. “You decide.”

Lance and Hunk sat down at the table. “Hope you like deep dish meat lovers pizza.” Said Hunk. “Lance kind of went all out on that one.”

“Hey, Keith and I really like meat.” Said Lance. “Let us have this.”

“What exactly did you order?” Asked Keith.

“One deep dish meat lovers with extra meat.” Said Lance. “Three garlic breads and a cursed hawiian pizza with extra cheese.”

Hunk rolled his eyes. “Pineapple on pizza isn’t the worst topping.” 

“Is too.”

Pidge sipped her drink. “Pretty sure the peas and mayo pizza is the worst.”

Hearing that made Lance cringe. “Yeah, okay. That is the kind of pizza that comes straight out of Satan’s anus.”

Hunk hummed a little and tapped his fingers against the table. “What is the worst pizza topping combination you can think of?” Asked Hunk. “Has to be real food and it’s assumed that the pizza has a regular tomato base and cheese topping.”

Pidge thought for a moment. “Thinly sliced kidneys and skittles.”

“Cinnamon apples, and anchovies.” Said Lance.

“Banana and sheep’s brains.” Said Hunk.

Keith thought about it for a moment. He was pretty sure what he thought was normal would gross them out. “... I’d say, deer anus and rabbit uterus.” That got Hunk and Pidge pulling grossed out faces. Lance just looked mildly uncomfortable, but considering they went ahead and had eaten rabbits whole before Lance had no real right to judge. “What? Those parts are edible.”

“Yeah, but we don’t usually eat deer ass.” Said Pidge. “Or animal reproductive parts… usually…”

Keith shrugged. “We have to eat every part of the animal when we kill it.” Said Keith. “Someone always needs some animal guts to make instrument strings or sausages. Verk likes making a kind of pate thing. Smells kind of bad, but it’s okay. Heard a lot of women tend to crave that gunk when they’re pregnant. So he’s been making a lot of it.”

“Oh have some people in your group gotten pregnant?” Asked Hunk. “Congratulations. Is everyone okay?”

Keith nodded. “Yeah. They’re staying with the people that have cars that also live close to the main road so they can get to a hospital if they want it. Most tend to give birth at home and then drive to the ER for birth certificate stuff and all the usual baby stuff. Some are pretty big right now, so I’m pretty sure some are gonna have twins or triplets.”

“Aw, you gonna be an uncle now?” Asked Pidge. “Uncle Keith gonna be stuck with babysitting duty?”

“... I better fucking not be.” Grumbled Keith. He was not good with kids. He’d end up growling and biting them out of frustration. He’d probably accidentally end up killing one of them.

Lance on the other hand became very excited. “Oh! I’ll babysit them! I love kids! My niece and nephew were so cute when they were babies. I looked after them all the time. They are so sweet! I love them!” He grabbed Keith’s arm and bounced excitedly. “Can I babysit them? Please?”

“... You’ll have to ask their mothers?”

“... Right.”

A bell rang as their pizzas were placed on the countertop. Hunk went and grabbed them and laid them out. “Alright guys. Let’s eat.”

Keith obviously went for the deep dish first. It was really, really good. Keith had probably had pizza less then ten times in his life. He was happy he could have this with his friends. Also, he was glad that Lance asked for extra meat. Lance really knew how to please his carnivorous side. He’d always be thankful for that.

Pidge lightly tapped her foot against his leg. “Yo, so we were talking about going to the pool down the mountain. They have a new slide. You wanna join us?”

“... I um… I don’t think so. Still don’t really have a swim suit…”

“You have the booty shorts I gave you.”

“And I gave them back after I washed them.” Reminded Keith.

Lance thought for a moment. “That reminds me… I need to ask Matt if those booty shorts were custom made or not. Need to get Keith a pair that says; Keep your paws off me.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “You burn up a brain cell thinking that one?” He turned his attention to Pidge. “What’s the other one like?”

“Pretty good. Want a slice?”

Keith shrugged and ate a slice. Sweet, yet savoury. “... Eh, not bad.”

Lance gasped and clutched his heart in fake hurt. “A traitor… My boyfriend likes the devil’s pizza!”

Hunk rolled his eyes. “It’s not that bad. People have been mixing sweet and savoury for ages. Salted caramel, chocolate and chilli, dates and cheese, pears and blue cheese, carrots and vanilla… Those kinds of things.”

“... Still gross.” Muttered Lance.

Keith shook his head and nudged his boyfriend’s arm. “Just shut up and eat your pizza. Pass the garlic bread Hunk.” As the group ate their conversation slowly changed from topic to topic. It made Keith feel warm inside. Bonding with Lance’s friends was nice. Being with them was nice. 

Under the table, Keith reached over and held Lance’s hand. Lance squeezed back which just made Keith’s heart flutter a little. He was really glad that Lance picked him up all those months ago when he was fighting a raccoon. To think one of those trash pandas was the cause of their relationship. He should probably thank them, but nah. They were assholes with grabby hands.


	32. Packs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know who we haven't seen any of this story? The rest of the Galra. Where's my Lotor? My Ezor? Narti? Zethrid? Acxa? Well get ready for more of my bullshit. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Watching Keith work was something Lance could do all day. There was just something sexy about watching Keith chopping wood while shirtless. He was too hot for words. Stupid sexy Keith. Why did he always have to look so sexy with his perfect muscles, sexy hair and just… He wanted to go up to Keith and start kissing his neck. He would have done it too if Keith wasn’t swinging an axe.

Keith eventually put down his axe and sighed. He seemed kind of tired now. “How important is it to you that I go off the mountain with you to the pool?”

“... Well, I kind of want to go with you.” Said Lance. “I think it will be fun. I mean, we can’t just keep having dates on the mountain, right?”

“I guess... but it is safer on the mountain.”

Lance frowned slightly. He didn’t really want to try and bring up the fire, especially since Keith hadn’t brought it up himself. “Well yeah, but I’d like to do things with you off the mountain… Like, what if my sister gets married and wants us at the wedding?”

“...”

“What if I want to take you to see a cool show or something and it’s in the next town over?”

“...”

“What if I get sick and have to go to the hospital off the mountain? Will you just not visit me?”

“...” Keith let out an annoyed sound as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Okay, but I’m not going to wear some stupid booty shorts.”

Lance grinned. “Awesome. I can get you something. You left a pair of your pants at my place the other day so I have a good idea what size you are.”

“Okay…” Keith picked his axe up and started chopping wood again. He didn’t seem to like the idea of leaving the mountain, but at least he was willing to go off the mountain with him. That made him smile a little. If Keith was willing to do this for him he’d be more than happy to help Keith out with the little renovation project he had going on with his cabin.

***

Keith hated this. He hated all of this. His eyes were glued to the window the whole time as Hunk drove away from the mountain. He could still see it now from the waterpark. He couldn’t take his eyes off it. It was like the only thing that was keeping him sane while the smell of chlorine permeated his nose and burned.

It had to be annoying Lance too. He looked uncomfortable. But maybe it was because of their swimsuits or whatever? Keith wasn’t sure. He was just glad Lance was kind enough to get him a pair of plain red shorts. They were okay, but he felt like people were staring at him and he didn’t like it.

Lance lightly nudged his arm. “Are you okay? Is this too much?” They were standing by a pool while Pidge and Hunk were busy getting changed in the change rooms. Lance himself had already changed into blue shorts. He looked good. Really good. Lance always looked good.

Keith shook his head. He didn’t want to disappoint Lance. He really wanted Keith to come out here with him and damn it, he was going to make sure Lance had a good time. “I’m fine. Really… Just haven’t been this far away from the mountain before… Hell, I used to fake getting sick just so I wouldn’t go on field trips back in high school… That sounds pretty pathetic huh?”

“It’s not pathetic.” Reassured Lance as he squeezed his hand. “I’m still happy that you decided to come here with me… I really appreciate it.”

Keith hummed a little and leaned against Lance’s arm. “No problem… You know I would do anything for you… Right?”

“I know… By the way, want me to help out with that bit of home renovation you’re doing?”

“... No.” The fact he was expanding his bedroom was meant to be a surprise for Lance. Him coming over and asking about it so soon wasn’t something he really wanted in the first place, but Lance had a habit of randomly popping over whenever he felt like it. It was both a good and bad thing. “I mean, like, do you know how to build a cabin?”

“Well no, but I can help you cut some logs or something. Right?” Asked Lance. He looked kind of hopeful. “Maybe do some digging if you want? Building cabins and stuff is like an important pack activity, right?”

“Well yeah, but you kind of need to know what you’re doing.” Said Keith. “My cabin is… It’s really important to me. Don’t get me wrong, but my cabin is my home. I chose that spot. I marked out the floorplans. I built it over the course of my senior year in high school… I want to make sure it’s perfect…” He wanted it to be perfect Lance too.

Lance seemed a little disappointed with that answer, but smiled anyway. “Okay. I get it… Are you really sure I can’t help? It’d probably be good to learn how to build a cabin… I mean, you guys seem to really take pride in building stuff and I want to do help if I can…”

Keith frowned as Lance spoke. He didn’t want him to feel bad about not helping him with the extension. “Lance… You’re not-”

“Sup bitches?” Asked Pidge as she walked over to them in a green rash shirt and swimming trunks. “You guys ready?”

Lance grinned. “Yeah. Where’s Hunk?” 

“I’m here!” He called. “You guys all good?”

“Hell yeah.” Said Pidge. “To the Viper!” She grabbed Hunk and Lance by the wrist, and Lance grabbed Keith.

“What’s the Viper?” Asked Keith in a mildly concerned tone.

Lance smiled at his boyfriend. “It’s the name of the new slide they opened up. It’s supposed to be really, really fast. You in?”

“... Sure. Sounds interesting.” Keith wasn’t sure if it was going to be too much fun. He’d always been worried about things like rapids so he’d stayed out of fast moving water. 

They stood in line for the water slide and Keith listened to his boyfriend talking with Hunk and Pidge. They were really excited about this. Keith was still just anxious and kind of wanted to go home and get working on the extension. He knew he could get it done before Summer ended, but he wanted to get it done quickly.

As he waited in line, Keith watched the other people coming and going. Lots of families with kids and teenagers. As he looked around he happened to spot a group of four girls. Three of them were sitting on the edge of the pool while one of them was in the water. The girl in the water had a very long ponytail and was splashing the woman that looked like she could crack someone’s spine in half like a glow stick. One of the other girls had short hair was just shaking her head in a disapproving manner. The last girl was wearing a huge sunhat and giant black sunglasses.

There was something about them he didn’t like. Which was weird. He didn’t fully understand it. He lightly nudged Lance’s arm and subtly gestured over to the group. “Hey, you picking up anything from that group?”

Lance looked over at the girls and then looked back at Keith. “... Considering I’m the bisexual here I’m mighty surprised that you’re looking at women.”

“What? No. Shut up.” He growled. “They just… Something about them is funny… This would be so much easier if I couldn’t just smell chlorine and fried food…”

Lance sighed a little and patted Keith’s head. “You know, I can’t tell if this is your natural instinct or if you’re just paranoid from being so far away from home.”

“... I don’t know either. I guess I could just be paranoid… I don’t know.” He was probably just being dumb.

“It’s okay man. Really. I understand. Just ignore them and try to relax. I mean, we have other things to worry about… Like that.” He pointed to a few people across the other side of the pool. “There’s James. He’s a lifeguard here in the Summer.”

“... Just get Pidge to neuter me why don’t you?”

“Who am I giving the snip to?” Asked Pidge.

“Keith’s being dramatic.” Said Lance. “Now move it gremlin. The line’s moving.”

Eventually they got to the front of the line and the employee explained how not to murder themselves and break all their bones on the way down. Pidge quickly zipped down the slide with a scream. Hunk was a little hesitant, but he quickly followed her when he was allowed to go. Lance gave Keith a quick kiss before he went down. This went completely against Keith’s natural instincts and he also went down the fast water tube.

He hit the water at the bottom of the slide with a huge splash. He quickly swam to the edge and shook his head while trying to snort the water out his nose. He hated chlorinated water. It burned way too much, tasted funny, and was just bad overall in his opinion.

He clung to the edge of the pool and huffed a few times. Pidge swam over to him and grinned. “Not used to getting dumped in the water like that?”

“Not at all… I prefer freshwater, with no chlorine… It burns my everything…”

“Fair enough. You any good at swimming normally?”

“Kind of. I can keep afloat. But like I said, I swim in freshwater. Not chlorinated stuff… It hurts…”

She took pity on him and patted his shoulder. “Just keep your head above water… You know, I’m glad you decided to come out with us. Lance was really worried that you wouldn’t want to come with us.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” She nudged his arm. “I’m proud of you for leaving the mountain. Even after the whole fire thing…”

Keith frowned a little. “Yeah… The fire…” He didn’t like talking about the wild fires that took his dad from him. He loved his dad so much and when he was gone he just… The fires never got to Mount Altea. It was like his dad had done everything he could to protect him and well, Keith really was scared something bad would happen to him if he left the mountain for too long. Being isolated and bullied in high school pretty much solidified that fear too.

“We’re all really proud of you.” She smiled softly at him. “Hunk and I really like hanging out with you too. You’re cool.”

“You think so?”

“Dude, I’ve always thought you were cool… And seriously, Hunk likes you too. We all like you. You’re an amazing guy. Don’t feel weird about hanging out with us. Okay?”

He slimed a little at Pidge. She was always a pretty outspoken kind of person. One of the reasons Keith liked her. “Okay.”

“Sweet. Well I’m going to line up for the Viper again. You coming?”

“I’m not a huge fan of getting slammed by water.” Said Keith. “I’ll just wait down here. I’m still having fun though.”

“Okay. Lance has already gotten into line with Hunk again. See you in a bit.” She quickly got out of the pool and headed to the line where Hunk and Lance were already standing.

Keith smiled a little and moved to slightly more shallow water. He still didn’t really like the chlorine, but he was dealing with it. He watched Lance standing in like with Hunk and Pidge. Every now and then Lance would look over at him and wave. Keith would wave back.

Suddenly the hair on the back of his neck Stood on end and he spun around just in time to see a rather tall man with long silver hair emerge from the water behind him a few feet away. They were feet away but their eyes caught each other. There was something there that made Keith’s lip twitched slightly in a snarl, but he stopped himself. 

The man seemed to quirk an eyebrow in a mix of amusement and mild confusion. He moved towards Keith and when they got close enough the two of them seemed to catch each other’s scent. This man smelt a little like a wet dog and so did Keith. This man was a werewolf too.

The man smirked as he got closer to Keith. “Well, well, well. What is a packless werewolf like you doing out here?”

Keith growled at him in a low voice. “If I’m packless then what are you?”

“Oh, my pack is here.” He said. “They just wanted some girl time.” He gestured over to the four women Keith had been looking at before. Keith knew something was up with them. The man leaned in close to Keith and sniffed him. A little odd, but considering the stench of chlorine Keith was okay to let this other werewolf lean in closer to catch his scent. Keith was doing the same.

“What kind are you?” Asked Keith. “Anthro or Dire?”

“Anthro.” Said the man. “What about you? My name is Lotor by the way.”

“Keith… and domestic… But my pack is mostly anthro with some dire mixed in.”

“I see. My pack is all Anthro.” He smirked and quickly gave Keith a once over with his eyes, sizing him up. “You know, it’s quite dangerous for a little domestic like you to be so far away from your pack.”

“Speak for yourself.” Growled Keith. “There’s no pack in this area. You trying to start your own pack or something?”

Lotor shrugged. “What’s it to you domestic? I am an anthro werewolf. The women in my pack are all anthros too. If we wanted to we could easily murder you like it was nothing and no one would be able to find your body.”

Keith glared at him and snarled. “You don’t scare me. I’ve fought bigger wolves than you. You’re nothing to me.”

That seemed to surprise Lotor a little, but it amused him. He laughed at him and moved back a little. “You’re an interesting dog. I;l be seeing you around. By the way, the pack I came from is called the Galra. See you around, little domestic.” Lotor got out of the pool and proceeded to walk over to the women. They talked amongst themselves for a bit and Lotor gestured to them. 

Keith did not like this at all. Now he had more things to worry about. Leaving the mountain sucked. Also, who the fuck were the Galra?

***

Lance hit the pool with a splash. He quickly swam to the edge and towards where Keith was. He was sitting on the edge of the pool and looking between Lance and the group of women, now joined by a man.

“What’s up Keefy?”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Zip it Bambi… We aren’t the only werewolves here. Those four women are anthro werewolves and so is the man with them now. He’s also an anthro werewolf.”

A chill ran up Lance’s spine when he said that. He looked over at them and caught a few of them looking at them. Lance suddenly became very anxious. “Should we leave?”

“Relax, they only know I’m a werewolf… The man with them carries himself around like Kolivan does. His name is Lotor.”

“How did we not spot them when we got here?” Asked Lance. He was increasingly becoming more and more worried.

“The chlorine. It messes with our sense of smell. Couldn’t you tell?”

“Well, kind of… I just thought they used more chlorine than before…” This was freaky, but maybe he was over exaggerating everything? He did freak out a little too much when he first met Adam and Curtis, and they turned out nice.

Keith held his hand and gently squeezed. “It’s okay Lance. The chlorine is masking our scent. They’ll only be able to tell you’re one of us if you get close to them. Stay away from those women and Lotor. Okay?”

Lance nodded. “Sure… You think they are dangerous?”

“I’m not sure, but I don’t like how Lotor seemed to have this… He seems to have some weird superiority complex about being an anthro werewolf. I told him I was a domestic and he just… Just stay away from them. I’ll talk to Kolivan when we get back. They said they were from a pack called the Galra.”

Now Lance was a little confused. He didn’t know that packs had different names. Granted that actually made a lot of sense. Of course there had to be different names for different packs. “I see… So um, what’s our pack called?”

“You don’t know?” Asked Keith in surprise. “We’re the Marmora pack.”

***

The rest of the day went pretty well. Keith and Lance stayed the hell away from Lotor and the women. They didn’t seem to want to be anywhere Lance or Keith either, so that was fine. Keith also stayed the hell away from James. Hunk and Pidge seemed to have a good time and they ended up leaving close to dinner time.

Keith was relieved to be going back to the mountain, and once they were safely back on the mountain, he kissed Lance goodbye and went to see Kolivan. The werewolf elder was sitting out the front drinking a beer.

“Hello there pup.” He greeted. “... Did you go to the pool? You smell like chemicals.”

“Yeah I know. Going to shower after this.” Muttered Keith. “Anyway, What do you know about the Galra pack?”

Kolivan frowned and put his beer down. “Galra? They are the oldest werewolf bloodline on the continent… They are extremely violent and elitist. In the beginning they would take over other packs and slaughter werewolves that they thought were inferior… I think Zarkon is the current leader of their pack. He’s just as aggressive as his predecessors. These days they are a lot quieter… Though Krolia has heard rumours that they have been thinking about making their own werewolf village a little further up north.”

“... How dangerous are they to domestic werewolves?”

“Dead.”

“Ah…”

Kolivan frowned and stared at him. “Keith. Did you and Lance meet Galra werewolves?”

Keith nodded. “Yes. Four women and a man. I just know Lotor is the name of the man. Tall, long silver hair. Gave off weird vibes… I don’t know if they are going to come here.”

Kolivan’s frown deepened as he thought this over. “This is not good… The Galra pack stays much further north than this… Four women and one man you say?”

“Yes.”

The older man thought for a moment. He picked up his can, finished his drink and crushed the can in his hands. “Okay. Thank you for telling me. I’ll take care of it… Be careful out there. Take care of Lance. He will need some protection if they decide to come to the mountain and start trouble with us.”

Keith thanked Kolivan for listening to him and quickly headed back home. The Galra pack were apparently not someone to mess with. They better not step foot on his mountain. If so he’d have to borrow a shotgun and a few dozen silver bullets from Shiro.


	33. Baby talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance is still kind of worried about Lotor, but screw that, the pack is going a little baby crazy. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Lance couldn’t help but feel a little jumpy these days, what with more random werewolf packs around. It annoyed Lance a little that he couldn’t just relax when he heard of new packs or was around them. Maybe he was a coward? He hated that. He didn’t want to be labeled a coward of the pack. He was already looked down on a little more like the baby of the group since he wasn’t born a werewolf like everyone else.

He sighed a little as he wiped up a little bit of spilled coffee on one of the tables. The bell rang and Lance looked over to see Ilun walking in. She was grinning from ear to ear. “Lance! Good news, first pups of the year.”

“First pups? Oh! Someone’s given birth?”

‘Yep. Twins.” She said excitedly. “Kolivan kind of has to rip out his seats, but the pups are all healthy and we might see them next run… Depending on if they have any medical issues or not, but It seems to have gone well.”

Lance grinned. “That’s awesome. When are they coming back?”

“Either today or early tomorrow.” She grinned. “They are gonna be so cute with their little squishy cheeks and pudgy limbs.”

“Ah that sounds so cute.” Cooed Lance. “I love kids so much. You think they’ll let me babysit at all?”

“Maybe. A lot of the women like you, but they might not let you babysit until their kids can walk or talk on their own.”

“... Why?”

“Because we mostly babysit during the full moon.” Said Ilun. You need thumbs in case diapers need to be changed or they need to be fed.”

“Ah… right… Thumbs…” He looked down at his hands and wiggled his thumbs. “Huh… Are you going to see them?”

Ilun nodded. “Yep. Why?”

“Do they have any kind of cake they like?”

“Um, I think they like berry cakes?”

Lance nodded and quickly went behind the counter. He boxed up a few pieces and handed it over to her. “Here. A little something to make her feel better after popping out twins.”

“Aw that’s sweet. Thank you Lance.” She took the cake and happily left the shop. 

Lance paid for the cake out of his own pocket and went back to cleaning tables. He couldn’t stop grinning. His mood was greatly improved now. He really wanted to see the babies. He really hoped that their mother would bring them over to the run, even if it was just for the meeting portion. Everyone was going to be so happy to meet them.

“What’s got you so happy?” Asked Allura as she walked back in from her lunch break.

“One of the bush people had twins last night. Ilun was just telling me the good news.” Said Lance with a grin. “So I’m really happy and excited for them.”

Allura chuckled and shook her head. “And people say women go crazy over babies.”

“Babies are adorable!” Whined Lance. “They are so curious and cute with their big wide eyes and their chubby little cheeks. I just wanna squish them so much!”

“I worry for your children when you have them.” Said Allura calmly. “You’re going to be the kind of father that dresses his children up in silly clothes and take lots of photos of them.”

“Your point is?”

Allura shook her head and headed behind the counter. “Okay. Time for you to go out and eat lunch.”

“Thanks Allura. Be back in half an hour.”

“Take your time.”

Lance took off his apron and headed out. He wasn’t that hungry, but he still went and bought himself a large packet of chips and a large drink from the corner store. When he walked out he happened to see Antok walking by with some bleach and a roll of fabric.

“Hey Antok. What’s up?”

The older werewolf smiled at him. “Oh nothing much. Just reupholstering the truck seats. Someone’s water broke and they didn’t get to the hospital in time. Very messy. We’re using pleather now. Much easier to clean.”

“... Fair enough. Still, this is very exciting.”

“It is. The last time there was a pup on the mountain it was Keith.” He smiled fondly at the memory. Lance wished he had been around when Keith was little. He probably would have been very cute. He was kind of imagining a small feral kid running around the forest and popping out from behind trees and scaring people. He would have been so cute.

“Yeah, will we see them at the run this month?”

Antok shrugged. “Depends on how they feel… You excited to meet the new additions to the pack?”

Lance nodded. “Oh course I am. I love kids. Ah, it’s been too long since I’ve seen my niece and nephew…”

Antok smiled a little. “Well maybe someday you and Keith can raise a child together?”

“Maybe… I mean, we aren’t even married yet so like… Plus I don’t know if we can adopt and stuff since those places probably prefer having parents that are both on the grid…”

“Okay. Well all that is off in the far future. I need to get going. See you soon.”

“Okay. Bye Antok. Have fun fixing the ruck seats.” Lance happily walked away as he enjoyed his lunch. His tailbone was tingling like crazy. He was so excited and happy to see the new babies. He wanted to cuddle them and squeeze them and baby the hell out of them since they are babies after all.

He sighed as he ate his chips. Now he wanted to cuddle some babies or puppies. He wanted to cuddle them so badly. Would he even be able to hold a puppy anymore or would they think he’s too weird because he smells like a werewolf? He wanted to hold puppies damn it! Some kind of squishy infant! Maybe he should get a dog? Is that even allowed? Would it go against pack rules? He had a lot of questions that needed answering.

***

The rest of the werewolves were extremely excited about the first birth of the year, including Keith. There was just this strange energy in the pack that made everyone go a little baby crazy. Keith had ended up searching through some of his old stuff that he took from Krolia’s house. He had a few stuffed animals that he really liked, some comics, and a few little things he found cool like rocks and sticks. Nothing really baby appropriate.

He sighed a little and started to dig through his wardrobe and found an old box. Inside were a few balls of yarn and crochet hook. Now, being a guy that lived in the mountain didn’t mean Keith’s only life skills were around survival building, and hunting. Keith also knew how to crochet. Mostly beanies, gloves and scarfs. He could probably make a few baby blankets for the babies. Even if they didn’t use them he still wanted to help out.

He sat down and happily started to crochet. He could knit for a day before he went and knocked down his bedroom wall. It would be good in the end. He hoped Lance would like it in the end. Keith ended up crocheting until his hand started to cramp. By then Keith had made two small blankets from his junk wool. He hoped it looked good enough. They were kind of a mix or red, black, and yellow.

There was a knock at his door before Lance pushed it open. “You in?”

“Yeah. What’s up Lance?”

“It’s pretty late so I thought we could have dinner together?” He held up a bag with some take out containers.”

“Oh cool. Bring it in.” He quickly put away his blankets as Lance walked in and made himself at home on the couch. Lance was grinning at him like an idiot by the time he came back. “... What?”

“Were you making baby blankets?”

“... Maybe.”

“I didn’t know you could knit.”

Keith shrugged. “It’s a skill. I just wanted to make something nice for the babies…”

“That’s fine.” Lance passed over a box of food to Keith. He happily took it and had a look at what Lance had gotten him. A cheese and bacon burger with extra bacon. Lance really was the best boyfriend. Keith happily started to eat his food when Lance spoke up again. “So, like, on the subject of babies and all that… Do you ever think you’d want to have kids?”

Keith almost choked on his food. “What? Kids? Lance we can’t exactly have kids… And it’s kind of irresponsible to adopt a human… Plus who in their right mind would let this-” he gestured to himself. “-be responsible for a baby of all things. That’s not even mentioning full moons. I’m a pomeranian! The kid would probably die!”

“Well I guess but…” Lance sighed and started eating his food. 

Keith instantly knew he said something wrong. “... Do you want a kid?”

“Well someday. Yeah.” Muttered Lance. “I just… I come from a big family. I have two older brothers and two older sisters. I have uncles and aunts, and so many cousins… I just… I’m used to lots of people… I’d like to have a big family some day.”

“Oh…” That was something Keith knew he couldn’t give Lance. “Should we break up?”

Lance suddenly looked very alarmed. “What? Break up?”

“Well yeah… You want to have kids and I… I really can’t do that.” Muttered Keith. “Maybe next Spring you can find a woman who can give you what you want…”

“What I...? Keith…” Lance hugged Keith tightly. “You stop that right now. Don’t you ever ask that question again unless you want it.”

“Huh? You mean breaking up?”

“Ah! No! Bad Pom-pom! No talking. Shush...” Muttered Lance. He moved back a little and looked Keith right in the eye. “Just because we can’t have a kid together doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you anymore you idiot. Got it? I love you more than anything in the world. Kids would be nice, but you are more important to me. Okay?”

Keith was a little shocked. He didn’t expect Lance to say something like that to him. Sure he didn’t want to break up with him but with all the baby talk going on around the mountain it just kind of slipped out. Neither of them could have a baby and if Lance wanted to have a big family with lots of kids Keith wanted him to have it too.

He put his hands on Lance’s and smiled a little. “I know… I was just trying to think logically about all this… Practical. You gotta think all practical when you’re living off the grid.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Well thank the lord I’m here. One of us needs to be more laid back. We can’t always get what we want Keith. There is a huge difference between what I want and what I need.”

Keith tilted his head in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Lance sighed and kissed Keith’s forehead. “You’re a dummy… I might want a big family, but what I need is you.”

Keith could feel his face burning. “O-oh.”

“Yeah… Are we allowed to have pets in this pack?”

“Only if they are small enough to be kept in a cage.” Said Keith. “No dogs or cats.”

“Aw…”

“Hey, it’s more for their own protection than ours.” Said Keith calmly. “... But I guess you could have a bird if you want?”

Lance shrugged. “Eh, I don’t know… I want something cute and squishy I can cuddle.”

“... One moment.” Keith grabbed the jar of full-moon and went into the bedroom. He quickly ate some and within moments he was back to being his small, fluffy self. He went back out to Lance and sat on his lap, huffing slightly.

Lance cooed and cuddled him. “Aw, you ate some Full-moon for me?”

 _“Yeah.”_ Muttered Keith as he wiggled his paws. _“Looks like being a pomeranian’s good for something huh?”_

“You’re the best boyfriend ever.” He kissed the top of Keith’s head. Keith’s ears wiggled. “Cute.”

_“Not cute. I am a fierce predator.”_

“Of course you are babe.”

_“I kill and eat rabbits!”_

“I know.”

_“I killed a bear!”_

“Sure you did.”

Keith pouted and glared at him. _“I did! I swear I did! Just because I’m small doesn’t mean I’m weak damn it! I’m a werewolf!”_

Lance chuckled a little. “Yeah. I know.” He took a bit of meat out of Keith’s burger and handed it over to Keith. “Want some beef?”

_“... Are you hand feeding me?”_

“Depends.”

_“On what?”_

“If you actually eat out of my hand or not.”

Keith pouted and little and ate out of Lance’s hand. _“This means nothing.”_

Lance chuckled and patted him some more. “Of course. I’m just doing what I can to make sure that you don’t get some barbeque sauce all through your fur.”

 _“Yep. Let’s go with that.”_ Keith continued to eat whatever Lance was putting in front of him until he was stuffed. _“Yeah, Okay. I’m done.”_

“Really? You’ve only eaten about a third of your burger.” 

_“I am tiny. Cut me some slack.”_ Grumbled Keith. _“If I eat anymore I’m going to vomit on you.”_

“... Ew. Okay. No more burger for you.” Lance carefully placed Keith on a pillow before he quickly cleaned everything up. He then lied down on the couch and placed Keith on top of him.

Keith wasn’t a huge fan of getting moved around, but he liked resting on Lance’s chest. He lied on his side and hummed happily as Lance gently rubbed his side. He rested the palm of his hand on Keith’s back and gently rubbed small circles into Keith’s stomach in a soothing manner. It was nice. Keith happily relaxed and stretched his toes.

Lance chuckled. “You got a little pot belly there Keith.”

_“Squeeze me. I fucking dare you.”_

“Ew, no way. Not gonna have you turn into some kind of tiny vomit gun.”

 _“... Well that’s one hell of a mental image.”_ Muttered Keith. He did not want to be turned into a tiny vomit gun. He was just a tiny dog that ate too much food. Again. He really needed to learn some self control when he was in werewolf form. But then again, he loved food too much and the burger was technically his. He could suffer stuffing himself if it meant that Lance would rub his belly.

Keith walked up Lance’s body so he could be closer to his face. Lance grinned and happily patted him some more. Giving him a few chin scratches. He closed his eyes and let Lance do what he wanted. He was a tiny dog after all. Lance was a human right now.

He yawned a little and paid no attention when Lance rolled him onto his back and started to rub his chest. It was nice. Keith liked it, and Lance got to cuddle up to a cute dog. It was nice. He closed his eyes and was about to have a little nap, when he felt his bones and joints starting to hurt.

Seconds later Keith was back in his human form and was laying naked on top of Lance. Lance let out a surprised sound before he sighed and loosely wrapped his arms around Keith’s stomach. “Well… That happened.”

“Yeah. I think the Full-moon I ate is kind of old, so it didn’t work as well as I thought it would.” Muttered Keith. “Um… So do you want me to put some pants on or what?”

“Nah, it’s fine man.” He lightly drummed his fingers over Keith’s stomach. “You still got a little bit of a pot belly there Keith.”

“Go chase a car Bambi.”


	34. Puppy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy... Sad at the start but it does get better. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

It was thundering that night as the she-wolf sat with her pups. Three girls and a boy. All born nice and early that year, but the boy was the runt of the little. He was a little smaller than the others and he whined a lot more than the girls, but that was okay. He’d grow out of it eventually.

She leaned down and happily licked her puppy's face. They whined a little but not nearly as much as they would have if she didn’t lick them. It was cute. Her baby was going to grow up to be just as big and strong as his sisters. No doubt about it.

One of the girls yapped and playfully bit her brother’s ear. The little boy whined and flailed as he tried to get away from her. The she-wolf huffed a little and nudged the two of them apart. They were silly little babies. 

There was an exceptionally large crack of thunder close to their den and all four of the puppies yelped in fear and hid behind her in fear. It just made the other chuckle and licked them all to calm them down. They settled down once again and all was well… That was until she smelled something a little off in the rain. It smelled like the strange wolf people that lived on the mountain, but different. They had to be pretty close since she was able to pick it up in the rain.

The hair on her back stood on end and she took a defencive stance in front of her babies and growled. In general the wolf people didn’t kill them. The wolf people generally pushed them away from the humans and kept them separated. Which was why she chose this place as her den in the first place. It was well away from the humans and on the rare occasion she happened to come by a wolf person they would just stare at each other before quickly parting ways. But this felt different.

Suddenly a fur covered arm shot out of the dark and struck her, sending her flying into a tree. She hardly had time to reorientate herself in the rain, but she could hear her babies screaming and howling for her. She desperately tried to get back to them, but there was more than one wolf person. There had to be five.

It wasn’t even a flight. It was a damn slighter. The she-wolf didn’t stand a chance. She was mauled to death. Before she even hit the ground by this pack. As she laid whimpering and bleeding out in the mud she could hear the pained cries of her babies. There was nothing she could do about it. She was horrified, but she couldn’t save them. If she couldn’t do it, she needed someone else to do it. Someone, anyone, she didn’t care who. She wanted something to save her babies. She let out a small howl in a vain attempt to plead with the moon for mercy. Not for her but for her babies.

***

Keith both loved and detested the rain. It was nice, but damn he hated how muddy everything could be. Kolivan had put him on carebox duty. It kind of sucked with all the mud around. He carefully stepped down the muddy path just breathing in the fresh scent of wet everything. 

When he got to his third box he couldn’t help but pick up on something damp and metallic. It was a familiar smell. The smell of a fresh kill. Something he was used to and something he wanted to investigate.

As he walked closer to the smell he saw a dead wolf covered in flies. Dead for a few hours. He also saw a few dead puppies. With it being Summer and so many happy mother’s on the mountain, this was just sad. He moved a little closer to see what kind of animal might have done this. Probably a bear or a pack of wolves, but then again any normal animal would have actually eaten what they killed, and-

“Arrrrr…” Came a small whine.

Keith froze and looked down at the puppies. One of them was still alive. It was laying in a small pool of blood but Keith couldn’t tell if it was the pups blood or the blood of his family. Being a werewolf he had a huge soft spot for wolves, even more so when they were puppies.

“Shit…” Keith threw off his bag and took off his shirt. He quickly wrapped the puppy in it and ran back in the direction of the Holt’s clinic. He didn’t want the puppy to die like that. He practically kicked open the door and probably scared the shit out of the townies standing around with their lap dogs and grumpy cats.

Pidge jumped a little and kind of just stared at Keith all bloodied and shirtless. “Where’s the fire?”

“What? No! Emergency!” He showed Pidge the puppy. “It got attacked by something vicious. Probably another wolf or a bear. Help them.”

Pidge nodded quickly and got him to follow her into the back where She quickly informed her dad and brother what was going on. They instantly dropped the cleaning they were doing and took the puppy from Keith and into surgery. After that Keith ended up sitting in the waiting room with people giving him weird looks. He was still shirtless and covered in blood and some mud.

“Hey, so everyone’s gonna need to be a little patient today.” Said Pidge calmly to the rest of the people in the waiting room. “There’s an emergency surgery going on and I need to call the other doctor in, so there will be anywhere between a twenty minute to a half an hour delay.”

Some people looked a little annoyed, but after glancing over at Keith they said nothing. Keith was thankful for that. If one of them lost their mind about their stupid animal having dried skin or eating random shit then he would have no problem punching them in the face.

After fifteen minutes Colleen, Pidge’s mum, walked in. “Hey Pidge. You said there was an emergency?”

“Yeah, Dad and Matt are in surgery.” She gestured over to Keith. “We need someone to do regular appointments while they do that.”

“Of course. Who is first?”

“Umm… A Mr Jellybean.”

A woman stood up with a chunky cat and followed Colleen into a room. This went on and on for hours while Keith sat there in the waiting room and waited. He was nervous. Not just for the puppy but what was out there that attacked them.

Near the end of the night Matt came out to talk to him. “Hey… So you want the good news of the bad news first?”

“... Hit me with the bad news.” 

“The puppy’s ribs were cracked pretty badly. One punctured lung, punctured abdomen, lost a lot of blood.” 

“Oh…”

“Good news, he’s alive.”

“Shit? Really?”

“Yeah. Want to come into the back and see him? He's going to be here for a while.”

Keith nodded a little and walked with Matt into the back room where the puppy was resting in a cage. They had most of their fur shaved off from their ass to their neck. The only good thing was that it gave Keith a good idea of what bit them. It was definitely a werewolf. That pissed him off a lot. He reached through the bars and gently touched the puppy’s soft paw. They were so zonked out on drugs

“You have any idea what bit him?” Asked Matt. “Was he abandoned or something?”

“No… I found his family all dead out in the forest. I don’t know what happened. Some animals got to them. I’m going to talk to Kolivan about it.”

“Yeah, you do that… He’s going to pull through.” Said Matt. “He’ll be good in about a week, and then you’ll have to decide what you want to do with him.”

“Okay… I’ll be back for you.” He promised to the puppy. “Take good care of him.” he said in a slightly threatening tone to Matt before he left and quickly headed to Kolivan’s home.

Kolivan was already there talking with Antok and Thace. Though they did stop and stare at him when he came running over to them “Are you okay pup?” Asked Antok. “Why are you covered in blood?”

“A she-wolf and her pups got murdered last night. One of her puppies is alive. I’ve been at the Holt’s vet clinic waiting to see if the pup is going to survive.”

“Is it?” Asked Thace.

Keith nodded. “Yeah. He’s going to live… But I don’t know what I’m going to do with it… I mean, it’s a puppy… Is there a wolf sanctuary somewhere?” 

“Probably not a good idea.” Said Kolivan. “Thace actually found the bodies when he was looking for you when you didn’t come back from your carebox run.”

“Ah…”

“But you saved a puppy, so we can’t be mad at you.” Reassured Kolivan. “However, I am a little concerned over Thace’s conclusion.”

“Huh?”

“Werewolves.” Said Thace. “It was definitely werewolves that attacked those wolves… But I don’t think it was anyone in our pack. Not even the new members. We respect our ancestors both human and wolf… But I will ask around.”

“Yeah, but what happens if a werewolf bites a wolf?” Asked Antok. “Do they turn into a human during the full moon or what?”

“I don’t know…” Said Kolivan. “For now we will keep the puppy and see if it’s even possible for them to be affected by a werewolf bite… Keith, since you live closest to town you will keep the puppy.”

“What? Why? Lance is closer. He lives in the town.”

“That might be true, but he has a job while you mainly stay around your cabin.” Said Kolivan.

“... Okay fair enough. Well, I guess you guys have this all under control?”

“We do.” Said Antok as he patted his head. “Run along little pup.”

Keith nodded and quickly left Kolivan’s place. He’d just let the older werewolves take care of this. Meanwhile Keith had to figure out how to take care of a wolf puppy. Not too difficult to do when he had a vague idea of who to ask.

***

“What do you mean you got a puppy?!” Whined Lance as he dramatically threw himself over Keith. “Keith! Darling! The love of my life! You said we weren’t allowed to have dogs!”

Keith rolled his eyes and tried to push Lance off himself. “It wasn’t my intention! I just found him and his dead family, so I took him to the Holts. Pidge can tell you more about him. I’ll be getting him back in a week.”

“... I’m gonna ask Pidge to send me a photo of our new baby.”

Lance grinned as he watched Keith go bright red and splutter. “Our-our baby?! What? Since when are we adopting kids?!”

“They are a wolf puppy right? If you adopt a puppy isn’t that like adopting a kid?”

Keith frowned as he thought about this. His eyes suddenly went wide. “Oh my god… I’m a dad now…”

Lance grinned. “Yep. You’re a dad now.” He swore he could see Keith’s soul leaving his body at this realization. It was kind of adorable. Keith was now a dad, even if he was a dog dad. It was too cute. Lance had to see Keith’s new baby. “What’s their name? What are you going to call him? Is he a cutie? I’m gonna love him. Is he going to live with you?”

Keith made a sound that sounded like a leaking balloon. It was absolutely adorable. “Oh my god…” He muttered. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…” Lance just laughed and kissed his cheek. Looks like they ended up having a baby together father all.

***

A week later Keith went back to the clinic with Lance to pick up the wolf puppy. Sam led the little puppy out on a leash. He looked very confused, but as soon Keith his eyes lit up and he quickly trotted over to Keith, looking very excited. It melted Keith’s heart as he quickly scooped up the puppy.

“He likes me.” Said Keith quietly.

Sam chuckled a little. “Of course he does. Dogs are good judges of character. He probably remembers you saved him… Now, I have some antibiotics he should be taking for the next two weeks.” He handed Keith a yellow bottle. “One of these every day after eating. Keep a close eye on him. He’s been eating and pooping regularly, but the medication can make him a little constipated. So mix a little oil in with his food to try and keep things regular.”

“Of course.” Keith held the puppy close while Lance patted the puppy’s back. “Thanks Sam. For everything.”

“No problem. Come back in two weeks.” Said Sam. “And maybe give him a name? Can’t keep calling him wolf pup.”

“Okay.” Keith walked out of the clinic and started to head home with Lance by his side. His boyfriend was cooing and gently patting the puppy. Still acting like it was a baby. Being a werewolf did tend to blur the lines between what they considered a child or not. It was all very much circumstantial. 

When they got back to his cabin Keith put the puppy down and let it explore around a little. It sniffed a lot around the kitchen as it explored. It made Keith smile a little, but he was now a dad. A dog dad. He was too young to be a father. He felt like he was missing a step. The important step of maybe getting married? How the fuck did marriage even work in the pack? Keith wasn’t even sure they did get married. Were his parents even married?

Lance lighting tugged on Keith’s shirt. “Um, Keith?”

‘Yeah?”

“The puppy just crapped in your kitchen.”

“... Fuck.” He sighed heavily and wandered outside to get his gardening trowel. Of course he needed to learn how to house train the puppy. This was going to take some time and patience. Once Keith had cleaned up the kitchen he found Lance laying on the couch with the puppy.

“Hmmm, how about… Blue? Red? Maybe… Motzart?” 

“Motzart?” Questioned Keith. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to name our baby.” Cooed Lance and he lovingly rubbed the puppy’s face. He was just loving the attention. “Violet?”

“That doesn’t sound like a very masculine name…”

“Well we can call him V.” Said Lance. The puppy didn’t even seem to care and chewed on his paw for a little bit. “Tim?”

Keith rolled his eyes. “He’s not a Tim.”

“Maybe a Timmy?”

“No.”

Lance pouted and looked back at the puppy. They were sniffing his pants, seemingly enjoying the bit of butter he happened to drop on his pants earlier that morning. “Well what can we call our baby? Poor thing… Maybe you can knit him a jumper or something? They are so naked… Poor thing’s going to have scars on him now…”

Keith sighed a little and patted the puppy some more. As soon as he touched the puppy they looked up at Keith like he was the small pup’s entire universe. “... Kosmo?” Suggested Keith.”

“Yip!””

Lance chuckled. “I think Kosmo likes that. Our son’s name is Kosmo.” Kosmo yipped again and wagged his tail. Lance grinned and cuddled the happy puppy. “Aw, so cute. Now all we need to do is get married.”

Keith felt his heart skip in his chest. “M-married?”

“Yeah, How do werewolves get married anyway?” Asked Lance as he continued to pat and play with Kosmo. “Do we say our vows under the full moon or something? Do you guys exchange wedding rings? Probably not because of paws and stuff, but it would be nice… Maybe collars?”

“I-I um… I don’t know how werewolf weddings are.”

Lance looked up at him with a confused expression on his face. “Huh? But your parents were married, right?”

“Not that I know of. I don’t think they actually were officially married.” Said Keith. “More like boyfriend and girlfriend that forgot to use a condom one night.”

“And what a happy little accident you turned out to be.”

Keith rolled his eyes and picked up Kosmo. “Your father is being mean to me Kosmo.”

“Yip!”

“Good boy.”

Lance pouted and crossed his arms. “I feel so betrayed right now. My son and my boyfriend are so mean to me. I came out here to have a good time and what happens? I get accused of being mean.”

“Yeah. Pretty much.”

Lance made another noise while Keith walked into the bedroom with Kosmo. Kosmo was his. His baby. He kissed the top of Kosmo’s head and sat on the bed. The puppy made very pleased sounds and snuggled into Keith. It made him grin. He really hoped that Kolivan would let him keep Kosmo.


	35. Speculation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone loves Kosmo. Kosmo is the best boy and if anything else bad happens I'll kill everyone in this room and then myself... Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Becoming a dog dad wasn’t as shocking as Keith thought it would be. Sure Kosmo did have a few accidents here and there, but he was a surprisingly fast learner. He learned how to pushover open the front door during the day and even had his own tree that he would do his business around. Which was nice.

Kosmo seemed to like sitting on a log near where Keith was working. He seemed to be keeping a close eye on him as Keith removed his bedroom wall with a saw. With the help of Thace and Verk of course. They were going to reuse as much material as possible. Shouldn’t take more than two days to complete the new walls and roof. Another day to weather proof it.

Kosmo happily yapped and would sometimes take small hand tools over to him. He had dragged off a few hammers over to his log. And looked very proud of himself. Keith just rolled his eyes and went over to retrieve the tools.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll play with you soon.” He said as he ruffled the wolve’s hair. “Just gonna put up one wall first. Okay?” The puppy whined a little and lied down across the log and looked at him with big eyes. “Soon...” He quickly went inside and took a rabbit out of his sink. Keith put it in front Kosmo. “Eat this.”

Verk chuckled a little as he remeasured some planks for the foundation. “So life with a pup is all good then? Nothing crazy has happened yet?”

Keith shook his head and walked back over with the retrieved tools. “I won’t know until the full moon… But he kind of seems to understand me? Like, I tell him to do something and he understands after a few times?”

Thace took a few of the planks and started to hammer them in place. “Wolves have always been smart creatures. Maybe a werewolf bite just makes wolves as smart as humans passively? Like how Dire wolves are very strong when in human forms.” He continued to hammer in the floorboards.

The trio went back to work when Kosmo suddenly sat up and yapped loudly. They looked up in time to see Lance walking around the bolder that hid Keith’s cabin from view. He was carrying a six pack and smiled at them.

“Hey guys. I brought you beer.” He sat the six pack next to Kosmo and patted him. “Hello baby boy has your daddy been nice to you?” The wolf tilted his head into his hand and made happy sounds. “Aw, you happy that your papa is here now?”

The two older werewolves snickered a little at Lance calling himself papa and referring to Keith a daddy. Especially when he called Keith daddy. 

Keith went bright red and rolled his eyes. “Hey Lance? Could you do me a favour and maybe take Kosmo over to Shiro’s place? He’ll like running around in the backyard and some of the dog toys he has there for the puppy school.”

Lance looked a little confused but nodded anyway and picked up Kosmo. “Yeah, sure… You know I could just play with him here away from you guys. We’d stay out of the way and-”

“No. I’d prefer it if you went to Shiro’s.”

“... Okay.” He nodded over at Thace and Verk. “Um, nice to see you guys again… Enjoy the beer I guess…” Just as quickly as Lance was there he was gone, and he took Kosmo with him.

When he was gone Verk gave Keith a confused look. “Why did you chase Lance away like that? We could have found him something for him to do.”

Keith shrugged. “I want this to be a surprise for him… It isn’t much of a surprise if he knows what I’m doing… Plus he can spend some time with Kosmo. He’s got baby fever or something at the moment so he should be happy to spend some time with Kosmo.” The two older werewolves shared a look before shrugging and getting back to work. Keith felt like he was being judged harshly. “Did I fuck up?”

“Well if you two are in a relationship, any time you make any changes to your home you should get him to help you.” Said Thace. “It’s polite you know?”

Keith frowned at that. “I guess… Maybe he’ll be happy if I let him decorate? He likes making things look nice… If his own home is anything to go by…”

***

When Lance made it to Shiro’s house, he was surprised to see that the man wasn’t there. Apparently he had gone down to the Sheriff’s office to make sure that the K9 unit was still at the top of their game. Then he had puppy school stuff in the afternoon. So it was just Adam and Curtis there.

The older werewolves were extremely excited that Lance brought over a wolf puppy and they absolutely babied him. They babied him even more when they saw the stitches and bite marks on Kosmo’s body.

“He is so cute!” Whined Adam. “Who hurt him? Who hurt this child?”

“Is he the one that lost his family?” Asked Curtis. “Antok was asking around to see if anyone from our pack would hurt a wolf. Just so you know, we wouldn’t. Ever.”

Lance nodded a little as he pried the puppy away from them. “Yeah, that’s Kosmo. The wolf that got bitten by a werewolf.” He put Kosmo outside in the backyard. The wolf stood frozen for a moment before he tilted his head and waddled around as he explored the place. He sniffed a few spots and found some places he wanted to pee.

“Are you okay?” Asked Curtis. “You seem kind of off.”

Lance shrugged. “I don’t know. Keith is just… I want to help Keith fix his cabin, but he doesn’t want me there… I know I haven’t really built anything before but I can carry stuff if he’d let me...”

Curtis frowned and patted his head. “Some werewolves can get really picky about their homes. My old man lost his shit when I tried to help him with the pig pen… Since it’s Keith’s house he probably feels really attached to him. Don’t feel too bad about it.”

“I know… But I still want to help somehow…” Muttered Lance. He looked over at Kosmo to see the puppy trying to grab something in the grass. “Hey! What are you doing?” Lance went over to see what the pup was after, but as soon as he got too close the pup bolted. “Hey! Get back here!”

The older werewolves chuckled as the two of them ran around. Eventually Lance managed to scoop up the pup. The pup yapped and whined as they play bit him. Lance just laughed and rolled around on the grass. Eventually Lance rolled onto his back and held Kosmo on his chest. The puppy wagged their tail and lightly tapped him on the face with his paw.

Lance rolled his eyes. “You are such a mean child. Do you act like this with your daddy?”

“Arf!”

Adam walked over to them and chuckled. “So you decided that you and Keith went ahead and adopted him?”

“Yes. Kosmo is our son now.” Said Lance. “You can pry that privilege away from my cold, dead paws. Plus look how sweet he is.” He happily played with Kosmo’s ears, making the puppy whine in annoyance and nip at his fingers. “A sweet little nippy boy.”

Adam sat next to him and happily patted Kosmo some more. He really seemed to adore Kosmo, but at the same time he did seem to be looking at the bite mark on the poor puppy’s body. “... If I find out who hurt this pup and their family I will crack their skulls open.”

“Same.” Muttered Lance. 

“... I wonder what will happen to him though?” Pondered Adam. “I don’t think I know anyone who had heard of a wolf getting bitten by a werewolf. I wonder what would happen?”

“... Werehuman?” Suggested Lance. He could just imagine poor Keith losing his shit if Kosmo turned into a human baby during a full moon. Hell, everyone in the pack would probably lose their shit. He was just a small werepomeranian. How was he going to take control of a werehuman? He’d have to help out at some point. He was the bigger werewolf in this situation.

Curtis walked over to them and joined them in sitting around in the backyard. “Are we talking about the mythical werehuman now?”

“Yeah.” Said Adam. “We’re brainstorming what would happen when a werewolf bites a wolf. Like, what happens to them. What do you think?”

Curtis shrugged as he patted Kosmo. “Not sure… If a werewolf bites a human they are usually in their werewolf form so it makes sense they would be a werewolf? So if a werewolf bites a wolf when in werewolf form… maybe he gets double wolf powers?”

Adam gave his boyfriend a confused look. “What the hell is double werewolf powers?”

He shrugged. “Not a fucking clue.”

Lance gasped and put his hands over Kosmo’s ears. “Don’t you swear in front of the baby! He’s gonna pick up on your swear words! He’s gonna start swearing! His first words are gonna be swears!”

The older werewolves laughed while Lance just pouted and cuddled Kosmo. He gently cooed and reassured him that swearing was bad. Kosmo, being a wolf puppy didn’t seem to give a shit about what was being said. He just sniffed their clothes and looked around.

The side gate opened and Shiro walked in dragging in a gym bag of stuff over his shoulder. “Oh hey, what’s going on out here?” He walked over and dumped the bag down. Kosmo looked up at him with a confused expression. “Aw, hello there. What’s your name?”

Lance grinned. “This is Kosmo. He’s my son, but he lives with Keith too because Keith is also his dad… We adopted him. Kolivan said so.”

“... Is having a pet dog like adoption to you guys?” Asked Shiro.

Curtis shrugged. “Depends on the circumstances. We did have dogs on the farm back with our other pack, and we treated them like we had adopted them into the pack. We saw them as equals. But I’m not sure what the situation is with this pack. You’d have to ask Kolivan.”

Lance pouted and hugged Kosmo some more. “He is my son. I don’t care what Kolivan says.”

The puppy whined and wiggled out of Lance’s arms and ran around Shiro to sniff him and his bag. Shiro took a tennis ball out of the bag and tossed it. Kosmo’s eyes lit up as he ran across the yard to grab it and chew on it. He didn’t bring it back. He just sat in the corner of the yard and happily chewed on it.

“Hey Shiro? What do you think will happen to Kosmo?” Asked Adam. “He got bitten by a werewolf. Double wolf powers or werehuman?”

“... Werehuman?” Shiro looked mildly horrified at that thought. “Do you want me to come over to Keith’s place? Like just to make sure that if Kosmo does become a human you guys aren’t totally screwed?”

“... That’s actually a good idea.” Said Lance. “Yeah, thanks. That’s a good idea…” He looked over at the pup that was currently rolling in something. “Hey! What are you rolling in?!” Kosmo stopped and stared at Lance with cute eyes. “You can’t use those eyes on me! I use those eyes on Keith!”

“How is Keith going anyway?” Asked Shiro as he sat next to Adam.

Lance frowned slightly and shrugged. “He’s okay I guess… He doesn’t want me around his cabin while he’s doing stuff to it. So I’m looking after our son. A son who keeps rolling in things!”

“Arf!”

Shiro didn’t seem to like the sound of that very much. “He’s not letting you help?”

“Yeah, but it’s his home and everything, so it’s not like I have much of a reason to help him…” Muttered Lance. “Besides being his boyfriend… and wanting to do things with him… Does Keith think I’m useless because I’m a townie?”

“I’m sure that’s not it.” Said Shiro. “Keith is very particular about his cabin. He designed most of it himself. So just… I don’t know. Maybe talk to him about it? Keith can be a little thick.”

Lance knew that Keith was a little dumb. More than a little dumb. He turned him into a werewolf because Lance was patting his stomach for crying out loud. Poor guy was a total gay, werewolf mess. He was one mistake away from being a total gay, werewolf disaster. Hell, Keith would probably misplace Kosmo and give himself a stroke trying to find the puppy.

Speaking of Kosmo, the puppy happily waddled over towards them without the tennis ball. He yawned and lied down next to Lance, quickly falling asleep. Lance couldn’t help but gush at how cute Kosmo was being. He lied down with Kosmo and rested his hand on the pup’s back.

***

Kolivan and Antok had taken it upon themselves to cremate and bury the remains of the wolves in their pack’s graveyard. As werewolves, wolves held a special place in their hearts. They were where they came from and held great respect for them. Out of all the predator animals on the mountain the wolves were the only ones that they never outright killed. If they did kill a wolf, accidentally or deliberately they would have to bring them to the graveyard out of respect.

Neither of them were happy about this. They had questioned every single werewolf on the mountain and they didn’t have any idea about what happened. It wasn’t even a full moon when they were killed. The two werewolves were standing at the graveyard. They weren’t too happy about anything that had happened.

“This is bullshit.” Grumbled Antok.

“Me either.” Said Kolivan. “It has to be werewolves from off the mountain.”

“A lone wolf?”

“Or a migrating pack.”

“What’s worse?” Asked Antok.

Kolivan shrugged. “I don’t know… If it’s a lone wolf we can snuff them out easily. If it’s a pack then we’re going to have some trouble… Especially since they seem to know how to make Full-moon.”

“I just don’t understand… How could a werewolf kill a wolf?” Asked Antok. “A wolf of all things? Just how? That’s disgusting… They weren’t even killed for food.”

“I know.” Muttered Kolivan. He frowned and closed his eyes as he thought things over. “Keith mentioned he saw some wolves from the Galra pack the other week…”

“So far South? Do you think it’s related?” Asked Antok.

Kolivan shrugged. “I have no idea if it is, but it could be. It sounds like it might be… We need to be wary about any strange werewolves… We all know the reputation they have.”

Antok nodded in agreement. “Yeah, well don’t forget our pack’s reputation. The Mamora pack is the strongest pack in three states. Our bloodline is strong and we don’t need to beat the shit out of people and forcefully turn them to keep our numbers up.”

Hearing Antok talk like that made Kolivan chuckle. He was always very enthusiastic about their pack. That was something that hadn’t changed about Antok ever since they were young. His passion was one of the many things that Kolivan loved about him.

“We’ll talk with Verk. Get him to up the patrol around the mountain during the runs.” Said Kolivan calmly. “He won’t be very happy about it, but we need to do this until we are sure that there are no Galra in the area, or nomadic packs, or lone wolves.”

“Kill on sight?”

“I’d rather try the diplomatic route first, but if they are violent and hostile to us first then I don’t care what they have to say.” Said Kolivan. “Id it’s a lone wolf just murder them. We don’t need any of that disgusting, violent, alpha wolf blood tainting the pack.”

Antok nodded. “Right… Do you want me to go now or do you want to stay around here for a bit?”

“I’m going to stay here for a bit.” Said Kolivan quietly. “I need time to think. Meditate on this position for a little while.”

“Alright.” He kissed Kolivan gently on the cheek. “I’ll see you back at the cabin.”

“See you soon.” Kolivan watched Antok leave and sighed heavily. This was not good. There were too many options and not enough information to strike down the current theories. He didn’t like this at all, but he had to protect his pack.


	36. Pup's first full moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg, my wifi modem fucking died on me on Saturday... That was fun trying to get it fixed on Sunday... I was held up in a Mc Donalds sponging off their wifi while still being a good patron and buying some snacks and a drink every hour or so... It was rough and I am officially tired of mcnuggets and fries... Also mcflurries are overrated. There. I said it. Rant over. Not back to your fic. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Keith was pretty excited. He’d finally finished his house extension and had gotten the larger bedframe and mattress put in. He liked it. It looked awesome. Kosmo happily trotted around the newer part of the room and sniffed everything. He seemed to be pleased with how it turned out. He was glad it was all Kosmo approved.

He’d texted Lance earlier that day and asked him if he wanted to come over for dinner. He’d be cooking of course. It would be his big surprise for him. He happily went ahead and started getting things ready in the kitchen. He was more than happy to drag a deer into the kitchen to carve it up.

As he worked Kosmo attempted to jump up and grab hold of a deer leg. It was adorable and eventually Keith gave him a deer leg and ushered the pup outside. It was a lot easier to debone the deer while Kosmo was distracted. He left a fair amount of uncooked meat to the side for Kosmo to eat later. 

With the meat he wanted he happily stuffed it into a pot and carried it outside to the fire pit to slowly stew the meat. Kosmo was excited to lay next to the fire to keep warm while he ate his bone. It warmed Keith’s heart to know Kosmo was happy.

After a few hours of slow cooking the deer, Keith added the vegetables and happily waited for them to cook and for Lance’s arrival. Kosmo easily allerted Keith to Lance’s arrival. He came with some drinks. 

He looked over at the renovations and looked relatively impressed. Keith smiled at him and went to greet him but Kosmo beat him to it. He’d run over to Lance and was jumping all over him.

“Aw, I missed you so my baby boy.” He cooed. Lance took some kind of large rubber dog toy out of his bag and handed it over to the puppy. “Here you go. Enjoy your new toy my son.” Kosmo wagged his tail and ran behind a planter box to chew on it.

Keith chuckled and smiled at him. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Lance gestured towards the extension. “You all done? Looks pretty neat.”

“Yeah. It’s all finished.” He held Lance’s hand and gently pulled him towards the house. “Come in and see it?”

“Sure.”

Keith grinned and pulled Lance inside his cabin. He showed Lance the bedroom and stood back while he let Lance look around. Sure it was only a few extra feet of space, but it made the room feel a lot bigger, even with the bigger bed. Lance looked a little shocked.

“Oh wow…” Lance muttered. “You got a nice room expansion. You get it done for Kosmo?”

“What? No, I was planning this before Kosmo.” He held Lance’s hand and walked around the room, showing him a large dog bed. “This is Kosmo’s dog bed where he likes to sleep when he’s napping. He usually sleeps in bed with me. It’s a pack thing. But there is enough room to put another wardrobe in here for you.”

“For me?”

Keith nodded. “Yeah. You’ll be able to leave some clothes in here if you ever want to stay the night.” He could feel his tailbone tingling like crazy. Keith was excited to see what Lance thought of it. But Lance was just standing there. Keith’s tailbone stopped tingling. “Do you like your surprise?”

Lance frowned a little. “So you… This was a surprise? For me?”

“Yeah?”

“Was this why you didn’t let me help?”

“... Yeah? Wanted it to be a surprise… For you…” Said Keith quietly. “Don’t you like it?”

Lance grinned and kissed his cheek. “I love it. I would have loved to help out a little too.”

“You can. If you can’t tell, I’m not that good at decorating…”

“... You’re going to let me decorate?”

Keith nodded. “Yep. If you can drag it down here you can put it in here.”

Lance grinned. He looked extremely excited. Suddenly his arms were around Keith as he attempted to spin the other werewolf around. Granted Keith was a little heavier than Lance. It was all muscle mass of course. That and Lance was still pretty weak.

“Thank you so much! We have to go to IKEA.” Said Lance. “Look, I know it’s off the mountain and everything, but it’ll be fun I swear.”

“Um… I don’t know.” Muttered Keith. The mountain was just… It was his safe place. Plus he really didn’t want to leave Kosmo on the mountain alone for so long. He was just a puppy and he wasn’t sure if this IKEA would allow Kosmo into their shop. Kosmos wasn’t very house trained. He’s kind of already taken a piss in the corner of the room.

Lance smiled and kissed his cheek. “It’s okay. I’ll take some photos and measurements. Then I’ll head down to IKEA with Hunk in a few days. I’ll bring you back a few bags of meatballs.”

“Thanks.” He looked over at Kosmo who was currently sniffing the carpet in the other room. “Full moon tomorrow night.”

“Yeah.” Lance also looked over at the puppy. “What do you think?”

Keith shrugged. “Shiro’s going to come over after work. If something weird happens to Kosmo we’ll have him around to help. Since we don’t have thumbs.” Lance nodded a little as he continued to watch the sweet chubby baby waddling around. He wouldn’t say it, but Keith knew that they were both worried. Despite their reservations about what will happen to Kosmo during the full moon they were also worried for their own safety. Keith was a tiny pomeranian. If Kosmo freaked out or mistook him for he could kill him.

***

Shiro came over at Dusk. Keith was a little surprised that Adam and Curtis weren’t with him. Apparently they went ahead to Kolivan’s place since they thought they wouldn’t be useful. Since they too didn’t have thumbs in their werewolf forms.

“So… How is this going to work?” Asked Shiro as he sat on the floor as Kosmo sniffed his pants. “If he turns into a human do you have like, baby stuff?”

“We have some blankets and stuff.” Said Keith. He put a few next to Shiro and nervously started to pace around the cabin. “Um… just be ready to hold him back if Kosmo decides I’m food.”

“Okay… You just do what you need to do. Where’s Lance?”

“He’ll be over soon.” Muttered Keith. He could feel the dull ache in his bones. It was going to start any minute now. “... I’ll be in the bedroom.” He quickly ducked into the bedroom just in time for his transformation to happen. Though he ended up falling over and hitting the bed.

Once he had transformed he shuddered and slowly made his way back out. He was almost at the door when he heard Kosmo yelp and Shiro cry out in shock. That got Keith racing out as fast as he could. Kosmo was still a wolf, but he was a bit bigger and fluffier. He had developed a strange ble pattern in his fur and iris had turned gold while the whites of his eyes had gone black. The poor puppy looked so confused. Almost as confused as Shiro

 _“What the fuck?”_ Barked Keith as he cautiously walked over to them. Kosmo looked over at Keith and tilted his head in confusion before he leaned his head forward to sniff him. Keith stayed a safe distance away just in case Kosmo decided Keith was his new chew toy.

“Well fuck me sideway…” Muttered Shiro as he looked at Kosmo. “I never thought I’d actually see one of these… A star wolf.”

Keith tilted his head in confusion. _“The fuck is a star wolf?”_

Shiro saw Keith’s confusion and decided to be merciful and elaborate. “Among werewolf hunter folklore there are some special types of werewolves or wolf-like entities. Star wolves are these types of wolves that like, glow in the dark. They are said to live in the mountains, like right up where it’s always covered in permafrost. They’re kind of like our version of yeti or bigfoot.”

Keith looked at Kosmo and then at Shiro. _“What? Kosmo’s not a yeti or bigfoot.”_

“... You still seem confused.”

_“No shit.”_

Kosmo seemed to have gotten over his sudden change and was much more interested in trying to sniff Keith. He seemed more curious about Keith rather than wanting to figure out what happened to himself.

“A star wolf is really rare… Like, we thought they had all died out. I thought they had died out.” Shiro picked up Kosmo and gave him a look over. The puppy looked up at Shiro and tilted his head in confusion. “They were said to have magical powers and are really smart… Who would have thought that a star wolf is a wolf getting bitten by a werewolf… This is kind of a huge deal. Kolivan will be shocked to find this out.”

There was suddenly a loud thump at the door followed by a whine. _“Owwwwwwwwwww… My face....”_

“... Was that Lance?” Asked Shiro. Keith nodded and Shiro opened the door for Lance to come in. The wolfhound looked up at Kosmo, who was still in Shiro’s arms. He sniffed Kosmo and Kosmo sniffed Lance. Kosmo let out a happy yip, which made Lance wag his tail.

_“Kosmo is so cute! He’s bigger too, and what’s with the fur?”_

_“Apparently Kosmo is a thing called a star wolf.”_ Said Keith. He sat and scratched his chin a little. _“Still not sure what he thinks of me. I think he’s confused since I’m small and stuff.”_

Lance shrugged. _“Probably. I don’t know.”_

Shiro sat back down next to them, still holding Kosmo. “So… can I put Kosmo down now or are you still worried he’ll try and eat you?”

Keith felt a lot safer with both Shiro and Lance around. He nodded and stomped on the ground a few times. _“Put him down.”_

Shiro frowned a little and gently put Kosmo down. The star wolf happily wandered over to Keith and sniffed him a few more times before he wagged his tail and licked him. Keith wagged his tail in turn and licked Kosmo’s muzzle.

“Is it all good?” Asked Shiro. “Everyone happy? No one getting turned into a chew toy?”

 _“Yeah, we’re good.”_ Said Keith. _“Don’t need a babysitter. It’s fine. You can go home now.”_

“Do you guys want me to stick around?” Asked Shiro. “I can if you like.”

Lance shrugged. _“I don’t mind if you want to stay. You okay with that Keith?”_

Keith frowned slightly and shrugged. _“Whatever… Stay or go I don’t mind. What do you think Kosmo?”_ The wolf happily yipped and did a little dance. He seemed really happy with how things were. Maybe he could understand him better now that they were wolves? He did seem to recognise that Keith was Keith, but smaller now.

 _“Aw, Kosmo loves you.”_ Cooed Lance. He lied down next to them and happily nuzzled both of the smaller dogs. Kosmo made a happy sound and happily curled up next to Lance. Keith quickly nuzzled up on Kosmo’s other side. Just so he could make sure that Kosmo could feel safe.

It seemed to work since Kosmo made a small happy sound and relaxed completely. Keith looked up at Lance, and Lance looked down at Keith. They shared a loving look at each other and then down at Kosmo. It made something swell in Keith’s chest. This all felt nice. Kind of like a family? Was this his family? This felt like it could be a family. He couldn’t help but wag his tail a little.

Shiro chuckled a little and took out his phone. “Can I take a photo?”

Keith huffed in annoyance, while Lance nodded enthusiastically. _“Yay! Family photo! Get in close Kosmo. You too Keith.”_

_“... If you somehow get Shiro to send you that photo and stick it up in the bedroom I will punch you in the throat.”_

_“With those tiny cute paws?”_

_“With my human hands. Dumbass.”_

_“Don’t swear in front of our child.”_

Shiro took a few photos of the happy trio, and maybe a video. He wouldn’t tell. Keith found that a little annoying, since he never really liked his photo getting taken in the first place. He kind of hated how he looked at school. He knew he stood out even before he really became a fully fledged werewolf. Krolia still had some of his high school photos, which Keith despised. He looked weird in all of them.

“You three look very nice.” Said Shiro happily. “I think Kosmo’s fallen asleep.”

Keith looked over at Kosmo and wasn’t surprised to see that Kosmo was indeed asleep. Such a cute little baby boy. They should probably move him onto his doggy bed. Though his was going to be hard with Keith being tiny and Kosmo was kind of bigger than he was. Why did he get the short end of the canine stick?

He got up and looked between Lance and Kosmo. _“Can you grab Kosmo by the scruff of his neck and carry him to his bed?”_

 _“Oh, sure.”_ Lance very carefully got hold of Kosmo and half carried, half dragged the star wolf into the bedroom.

“Going to have a bit of a family night?” Asked Shiro.

Keith nodded. _“Yeah. You get home safe now. Don’t get fucked by your horny boyfriends on the way back.”_

Shiro, oblivious to Keith’s vulgar language and just patted him on the head. “You let Lance and Kosmo know I said goodbye.” He quickly left the cabin and Keith walked into the bedroom to see how his boys were doing.

Lance was protectively wrapped around Kosmo and lightly thumping his tail against the ground. _“Shiro?”_

_“He went home.”_

_“Ah, okay.”_ Lance uncurled a little, giving Keith the opportunity to climb into the dog bed with them. _“Snuggle with us? Kosmo seems to like it when we’re all together. He just zonked out right away when we were all together.”_

 _“Probably just the whole transformation thing.”_ Said Keith. He climbed back into the bed and curled up with Lance and Kosmo. He settled down and made himself comfortable. _“We’re probably going to end up doing a lot of napping. Transforming his hard on a small body like his.”_

 _“I’m good with that.”_ Said Lance. He yawned and rested his head on his paws. _“So… You gonna tell Kolivan that Kosmo is some kind of star wolf thing?”_

 _“Tomorrow. He’ll probably come by tomorrow to check on us anyway.”_ Keith curled up and closed his eyes. _“Okay, sleep time.”_ Lance nodded in agreement and the two werewolves curled up around their puppy. Quickly falling asleep.

***

The nature of tonight’s run was that of utmost importance to all able bodied werewolves. Kolivan made it clear that anyone still pregnant or had just given birth were not to be out tonight. There were confused murmurs around the pack, but everyone did as they were told.

Before they left Kolivan informed the pack of the wolf murder on the mountain. Those that hadn’t heard about it were horrified and those that already knew were angry. After giving them the bare bones he let Verk and Thace talk about what they had found. They were the ones that had spent the most time at the crime scene and were technically heading up the investigation.

Thace informed the pack that it was definitely a werewolf’s going. A group. A pack of nomadic werewolves that seemed to be passing through their territory. They had disrespected the pack and the mountain by murdering a she-wolf and three of her four cubs. For that crime they are to be treated with extreme hostility. They are to be given no shelter. No food. No warmth. They are only to be met with snarls and closed doors. If they could murder a she-wolf and her pups then there is not telling what they would do with them?

Verk had devised a plan and instructed his fellow pack members were to go for their run that night. They needed to keep a tight perimeter around the town while also keeping an eye on streams and other points of easy access to the mountain. They needed to find them and drive them off the mountain. He also voiced his concern that they could be from the Galra pack.

Hearing that made some of the pack waver. _“Galra? Don’t they kill other werewolves?”_

_“Bit it’s too far south for them. Why would they be here?”_

_“Did they break off from the main pack because it got too big?”_

_“What if the Galra kicked them out?”_

_“Wouldn’t that mean they were more bloodthirsty than your average Galra?”_

_“I thought Mount Altea was safe…”_

_“We’re going to die if it’s really them…”_

Hearing that made Kolivan frown. He quickly stood up and took control of the meeting before it spiralled out of control. _“No one is going to die.”_ He growled. _“If they are really wandering they are probably long gone by now. This is just a precaution to ensure that the mountain stays a safe place for us, our children, and the humans.”_

The pack seemed to calm at Kolivan’s words and quickly went off to their designated places. When most of the pack was gone Kolivan looked over at Krolia. He was happy that she had decided to stay on the mountain this year. Even if it was just to use her knowledge and links to other packs in the area to try and figure out who the mystery werewolves were.

_“Heard anything yet?”_

She shook her head. _“Nothing yet… I’ll keep trying. Someone, somewhere must know something…”_ She scratched her chin and crossed her arms. _“Maybe… Maybe they aren’t Galra and are just using the name to scare other packs? It’s a decent strategy for a few werewolves that got kicked out of their pack…”_

_“So a hyper violent group of lone wolves got together and decided to form their own pack?”_

_“It’s one theory.”_ She stretched and looked over at Ilun who was waiting for her, so they could pair up and perform the patrol part of their run. _“I’ll see you tomorrow. Good luck tonight.”_

 _“You too Krolia.”_ He waved as she and Ilun quickly darted off into the trees, leaving just Kolivan and Antok.

The taller werewolf lightly nudged his lover. _“Are you okay? I know the situation is tense and everything, but…”_

 _“I’m just worried.”_ Admitted the usually strong and unwavering werewolf leader. _“I’m worried for the pack and I am worried for Keith and his wolf pup… Though considering we haven’t heard any howls of pain and suffering I’m guessing everything went okay…”_

 _“I guess…”_ Antok nuzzled Kolivan a few more times before he gently nudged him towards the trees. _“Come on. Time to do our part for the pack of fearless leader.”_

 _“Oh hush you.”_ Muttered Kolivan. He quickly fell onto all fours and raced off into the forest with Antok close behind him. He really hoped that he was just being overly cautious. It was better to be overly cautious when it came to these situations than too lax. He would do everything he could to keep his pack safe.


	37. Town excursion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More of Kosmo being adorable because Kosmo is cute. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

“A star wolf?”

“A star wolf.”

“... He’s a star wolf?”

“Yes he is.” Keith looked over at the puppy, now back to being his natural brown and grey coat, sniff around Kolivan’s feet. Kosmo seemed a lot more alert and interested in what everyone was saying around him now. It reminded Keith of when he first turned. His wolf senses had awoken and all his senses had heightened. It was weird before he was able to get used to it.

Kolivan picked up the pup by the scruff of his neck and looked him over. The pup stared at him and tried to lick Kolivan’s nose. “Huh… That is interesting… Even my great grandfather only spoke of star wolves as legends. This is one for the story cave.”

“Yip!” Yapped Kosmo.

Kolivan put him back down and Kosmo happily ran around Keith’s legs. “Well, I guess we’re going to have to keep them.” He said. “We can’t let a star wolf go to a wolf sanctuary. It would cause all kinds of trouble for everyone. Guess you’re stuck with him then?”

Keith shrugged. “I wouldn’t say I’m stuck with him… I kind of like having Kosmo around…”

“That is nice… Though if you are going to keep him you’re going to have to consider if you’re going to have him neutered in about two years. Wolves reach sexual maturity in twenty two months. It doesn’t matter if you’ve raised Kosmo since he was a puppy. Most animals don’t have the same sense of morality that humans and werewolves do.”

“... You’re saying Kosmo’s gonna fuck me?”

“What? No… More like Kosmo’s gonna fuck Lance.”

“...” Keith’s face went bright red. “W-well maybe Kosmo’s straight and would rather screw a woman?”

Kolivan shrugged. “I’m just saying. Eventually you’ll have to decide what’s best. If you want to leave him be then go ahead. Just be cautious around Spring time. You never know…”

Keith pouted a little as he watched the puppy. Kosmo had found something interesting to roll in. “Hey! What are you rolling in?” Kosmo froze for a moment and quickly rolled onto his stomach, looking away with his nose in the air. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” He looked back up at Kolivan. “So, is that it?”

“Come by my cabin when you can with Kosmo. There are some books in my cabin that might shed some light on star wolves.”

“Thank you.” He looked back over at Kosmo, who was back to rolling in something. “Hey! Quit that!” Kosmo was on his back on the patch of ground and looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Keith quickly ran over to Kosmo, quickly scooping him up and seeing if he rolled in shit. Thankfully, Kosmo’s fur was shit free, but he had a dead, mushed up worm on his back. “... You gross little shit.”

“Arrrrah?!” Whined Kosmo.

Keith rolled his eyes and put Kosmo down so he could get his laundry bucket and fill said bucket up with some water from his water tank. Kosmo seemed confused as he watched Keith doing that. He picked up Kosmo and placed him in the bucket. The wolf looked confused and splashed the water with his paws a few times before looking up and giving Keith a confused look.

“Hey, if I wasn’t allowed to stay covered in deer guts you don’t get to have a worm on your back.” He carefully pulled the dead worm off the wolf’s back and carefully washed him instead. Kosmo didn’t seem to mind getting washed, which was good. Once he was clean Keith grabbed a towel and dried him off.

Kosmo was a little surprised but he seemed content enough. He did go back over to the spot where the worm was, but Keith made a warning noise and Kosmo huffed in annoyance before waddling back inside the house. He was sulking.

Keith rolled his eyes and followed the pouty pup. “Oh come on, what the hell Kosmo? You can’t be mad at me for cleaning you up.”

“Arf!” He looked away from Keith and just glared at the wall.

“... Are you sassing me?”

“Ruff!”

“You are totally sassing me…” Keith pouted and crossed his arms. “Do you… want to see Lance?”

Hearing Lance’s name made Kosmo’s ears perk up and he excitedly spun around and wagged his tail like crazy. He clearly loved the idea of seeing Lance again it seemed. Keith quickly changed his shirt into one of the nicer ones that Lance bought for him and left the cabin with Kosmo. The puppy happily walked around Keith’s legs at a breakneck speed. It was the first time taking Kosmo into town. He hoped that Kosmo would be a good boy.

“Now you gotta stay with me no matter what.” Said Keith to the puppy. Don’t run off on your own. There are lots of dangerous things in that place. Way more dangerous than where we live.” The puppy looked up at him and gave him a small nod and a huff of affirmation. Keith was damn sure that Kosmo actually knew what people were saying now.

When they got into town, Kosmo stayed very close to Keith, but did look around at everything with wide, curious eyes. It was kind of sweet and made Keith smile. He really loved looking at Kosmo’s reactions.

Suddenly, an all too familiar police car pulled up beside Keith and the driver rolled down the window. Keith inwardly cringed as he stopped and looked inside the car. Staring back at him was Sheriff Iverson. He had been doing so well avoiding him too.

“Sheriff.”

“Kogane.” They glanced down. “What do you have there?”

Keith looked down at himself. “... Legs?”

Iverson rolled his working eye and pointed at Kosmo. “The dog Kogane.” He snapped. “The dog.”

Keith looked down at Kosmo and frowned. “Kosmo?”

“Why isn’t he on a leash?”

Keith shrugged. “Why does he need a leash?”

The man looked visibly annoyed. “All dogs need to be on a leash Kogane. You want a ticket for that?” Of course he was going to pick on him for walking Kosmo without a leash. “Does that dog even have a leash?”

“No…?”

“If I see you walking that dog around town without a leash again you’re getting a ticket. Is that understood?”

“Yes Sheriff… Where do I get those?”

“There’s a small pet shop on the corner of Bronson and Bower. Go there today Kogane.”

“Okay.”

“Now!”

“Yes Sheriff…” Keith watched as the man quickly drove off. He sighed and looked down at Kosmo. The puppy was kind of standing behind Keith and baring his teeth. He chuckled and gave him a few pats. “Good boy. Iverson’s a prick… Guess we have to get you a leash huh? I really didn’t want to get you one… But I guess we have to… I can’t afford getting another ticket. Kolivan would punt me off a cliff if that happened again.”

So with much reluctance, Keith took Kosmo to the pet shop and got him a dog harness and leash. He thought having a harness was more humane than putting a leash on a collar, which he refused to get thank you very much. Getting collared felt very demeaning to him. Kosmo didn’t seem to like walking on a leash either. He kept trying to bite the lead and pull it out of Keith’s hand in frustration. 

“Yeah, yeah…” Grumbled Keith. “I hate it too. Just be thankful I didn’t give you a collar… Lance would have gotten you some stupid gaudy thing. One with a bunch of ugly stones on it.” Kosmo whined loudly.

Keith walked into the small cafe that Lance worked at only to see that it was Allura behind the counter and not Lance. The woman smiled brightly at him. “Hello there Keith. Long time no see.” She saw Kosmo and grinned. “And who is this handsome young man? Is this the famous Kosmo that Lance has told me all about?”

Kosmo seemed to have a very smug look on his face at being called handsome. Keith just chuckled a little and smiled. “Yeah. This is Kosmo… Is Lance in?”

“He ducked out for lunch. But he will be back soon.” She informed him. “Want to pull up a seat? I can get you a drink and a sandwich if you like? Maybe a little something for Kosmo too? A water bowl?”

“Oh, you don’t have to…”

“I insist.” She gestured to the nearly empty cafe. “Take a seat and I’ll make sure you two are taken care of.”

Keith nodded dumbly and sat at a table near the back of the cafe. Kosmo made himself comfortable on the floor near Keith’s feet. Keith looked down at Kosmo and gave him a few pats. He was a very good boy.

***

The only reason Lance went home to eat his lunch was because he forgot to bring it with him when he went to work that day. His mama had supposedly, accidentally, made too much food and just had to give some of it away to Lance to eat for he was just skin and bones. Admittedly Lance was a little skinnier than he was before, he blamed his body burning through his calories way too quickly during his transformations.

Maybe he needed to eat more fat so he could burn that off? He’d have to ask Keith what he ate besides his own body weight in red meat every day… Maybe some of the other werewolves would be able to give him some advice?

It didn’t really matter that much to him. Once he’d eaten he quickly went back to the cafe and was pleasantly surprised to see Keith and Kosmo waiting for him. He grinned and happily walked over to Keith, kissing him on the cheek.

“Hey there babe. You miss me?”

“We both did.” Said Keith.

Lance grinned and crouched down to cuddle Kosmo. “Hello there baby boy. Have you gotten bigger? What’s with the harness?”

“Iverson told me to put him on a leash or he’d give me a ticket.” Grumbled Keith. “Kosmo hates it.”

“Awww, poor baby.” Cooed Lance. He patted Kosmo a few more times before he stood up and took his house key off the keychain, passing it to Keith. “Here, I still have to work but the place closes at three today. When you’re done here you can head over to my house and hang out there.”

Keith looked a little surprised for a moment, but he grinned and took it from him. “Sure. I think Kosmo will like sniffing around your place.”

“Cool.” He kissed Keith and lightly pressed his forehead against his. “My mama also gave me a bunch of food the other day. You like her cooking, right? Help yourself to them and give a little to Kosmo if you feel like he can eat it.”

“Sure. Should be a good run tonight, don’t you think?”

Lance grinned and felt his tailbone tingling. “Yeah. I think we will too.”

“Alright you two!” Called Allura from behind the counter. “Smooching time is over. Back to work Lance. You’re embarrassing your fur baby.” 

Looking down, Kosmo was laying on his side and looking at his toes, wiggling them. “My son is not embarrassed by a bit of PDA. He licked his own balls every other day. I know. I’ve seen it.”

Keith just rolled his eyes. “All dogs can do that.”

“... Well I know what I’m going to try doing tonight.”

Keith sighed. “You know, I should be dissapointed, but I’m just surprised you haven’t tried it sooner.” He finished his water and stood up with Kosmo. “Come on Kosmo. We’re going over to Lance’s house. The pup wagged his tail a little and did a little happy dance.

***

That evening the trio underwent their transformations. Kosmo whined loudly during the whole time, but then became very interested in trying to eat his way through the leg of Lance’s coffee table. Keith half expected that Lance was going to stop the pup, but nope. Lance was attempting to lick his balls.

Keith just rolled his eyes and tried to pull Kosmo away from the coffee table by the scruff of his neck. Kosmo whined and just let it happen. Keith huffed in annoyance and lied on top of Kosmo to try and keep him still. _“Is this my life now?”_ He whined. _“Is this what domestic life is? I have to stop Kosmo from eating everything while you sit around and lick your balls?”_

Lance whipped his head around, his tongue still dangling out of his mouth. _“Hmm?”_ He stood up and wandered over to them. _“What’s happening?”_

 _“You done licking your balls?”_ Grumbled Keith.

 _“Well I didn’t realise that was something I could do!”_ Whined Lance. _“You can’t really lick your own balls when you’re human to start with. I’ve been too busy learning to walk and werewolf to explore my flexibility.”_

_“I’m pretty sure I almost bent you far enough to suck you own dick during our ruts.”_

_“Well yeah, but that was sucking my dick, not licking my balls.”_

Keith rolled his eyes and moved off of Kosmo. _“You have really weird priorities.”_

_“If I could have sucked my own dick and balls in my normal human body don’t you think I would? Bet you’ve done it heaps of times.”_

_“Usually only during my ruts.”_ Admitted Keith. _“I could only hump a pillow for so long.”_

 _“I guess but… Keith? Where’s Kosmo?”_ The two werewolves paused and quickly looked around Kosmo had run off. He couldn’t have gone far, but they both knew that this was not going to end well. 

As if to confirm their worries there was a loud thump coming from the direction of Lance’s bedroom. The two werewolves quickly ran to the bedroom to see Kosmo looking very confused and a cardboard box of things knocked over onto the ground.

Lance sighed a little and walked over to Kosmo. _“What are you doing with my stuff?”_

“Yip!”

 _“What’s that?”_ Asked Keith. He walked over to the clothes and sniffed them. They smelled strongly of Lance.

 _“Just some clothes that I’ve grown out of.”_ Said Lance. _“What do you do when you grow out of your clothes?”_

_“I wear my clothes until they become unwearable and then they become rags. They are already second hand clothes anyway.”_

_“Huh… I guess so.”_ He walked over to Kosmo and nudged him with his nose. _“My child, why are you going through my old clothes?”_

“Arf!” Kosmo lied down and happily wagged his tail as he looked up at Lance. He seemed very pleased with himself.

Lance just shook his head and dragged Kosmo off the clothes. _“Now they have star wolf hair all over them…”_

 _“Next time box it up better.”_ Said Keith. _“You should know by now that werewolves like things that smell strongly of their mates…”_

Lance grinned at him as best he could as a dog and wagged his tail. _“Is mates better than boyfriends?”_

Keith blushed and quickly looked away. _“Maybe… it’s kind of like a step between boyfriends and um… getting married…”_

 _“So… you saying you love me?”_ The wolfhound cooed.

Keith pouted. _“Perhaps… A-anyway. Tomorrow I’m going over to Kolivan’s cabin to read some books on star wolves. See what we can expect from raising Kosmo. Okay?”_

Lance nodded a little. _“So, we’re spending the last run of the month at Kolivan’s place?”_

_“No, I’ll be walking home before dusk. Kosmo and I will get back before we transform.”_

_“Well that’s good I-”_

There was another crash and the two ran out of the room to see Kosmo standing on the coffee table, but he had knocked over some stuff on there. He looked very guilty. “Arf?”

Lance sighed heavily. _“I need to make my house puppy proof don’t I?”_

_“Yep.”_


	38. Dog fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... you'll get the aftermath of all this in the next chapter. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

_While the true origin of Star Wolves is unknown there are a few legends within the werewolf community that could be their potential origin. One theory is that they are the children of the Moon Goddess and she sends them down to earth to see if the werewolves have redeemed themselves enough to be freed of their curse._

_Another theory is that star wolves are the spirits of our noble ancestors, and only appear during or after a meteorshower. Most werewolves believe that those are the spirits of werewolves running across the sky in an eternal hunt across the sky._

_Depending on the region, some believe that Star Wolves are omens of judgement or death. This is because Star Wolves do not interact with werewolves and simply stand and stare at them before they leave. There is something unnerving about the stare of a Star Wolves eyes._

_They are also believed to have the ability to vanish or teleport at will. There is no real evidence of this because there have been no recent sightings of Star Wolves. They could have died out or the Moon has decided not to send any more wolves down to earth._

There was a loud thump and Keith quickly looked up to see Kosmo standing on Kolivan’s coffee table. He hand knocked over a few books and seemed surprised that gravity was a thing that was still happening around him.

“Arf?”

Keith rolled his eyes and picked up the puppy, giving him a stern look. “We are guests in Kolivan’s cabin. You stop it now. Okay? No destroying his stuff.” Kosmo tilted his head and let his tongue loll out of his mouth. “... You’re lucky that you’re cute.”

“Yip.”

“Have you found what you are looking for?” Asked Antok. The taller male walked into the room and offered Kosmo a bone. The pup happily took it and went to sit in the corner to eat it.

Keith shook his head. “No. Not really… It’s all speculation and legends. That’s all.”

“I see.” Antok sat on the couch next to Keith on the couch and picked up his own book. “Well, no one really thought Star Wolves were real. Just stories…” He looked over at Kosmo. “What a strange thing… I kind of thought that star wolves would have been a little more… regal?”

“He’s still a baby.”

“Yeah. You better be teaching him how to be a good wolf. When he gets bigger you’ll have to teach him how to hunt.” Said Antok. “... If you need someone to teach him how to hunt larger game, Kolivan or I would be more than happy to do so.”

“Thanks… That reminds me, I’ve been meaning to ask, have you found out anymore about the people that killed Kosmo’s family?”

Antok tensed up a little. “There have been… There has been progress. We have found some evidence that there are some werewolves hiding somewhere on the mountain… We’ll flush them out eventually. Just be careful. You and Lance… And your pup. Got it?”

“Yeah, I got it… Is everyone else?”

“Anyone with pups is not allowed out on any further runs until this is all sorted out.” Said Antok. “It isn’t ideal or fun, but we can’t put people in danger. If there is a werewolf out there that will kill a she-wolf and her pups then they will probably go and attack a werewolf too… We need to protect everyone on the mountain.”

“Yeah…” He sighed a little and stood up, stretching. “Well, Kosmo and I better head home. It’s gonna get dark soon.”

“Okay. You do that. It was nice having you over.”

Keith nodded and whistled to get Kosmo’s attention. “Come on. We’re going.”

Kosmo dropped the bone and quickly ran up to Keith and yipped very loudly at him in excitement. Kosmo loved going out, but he did love being at home too. Keith was glad to see that Kosmo felt like it was his safe space now. 

As they walked back Kosmo happily stopped a few times to sniff trees or to check out a bush that a small animal may or may not have zipped into. It was cute to watch him explore. It reminded him of when he was a puppy and exploring everything for the first time. Everything was so exciting and new.

To get back to their cabin they had to walk through a small clearing, but Kosmo didn’t want to. He kind of just froze at the edge and whimpered a little. His eyes kept darting around and he tried to puff himself up as best he could.

“... Kosmo? What’s wrong? Why are you-?” The wind changed and Keith picked up something subtle in the air. Something small and something he wouldn’t be able to pick up on if he was human, but it was enough for him to understand. He crouched down and looked right at Kosmo. “Good boy. You are very smart… Go get Shiro. Shiro. Sh-i-r-o. You understand right?”

“... Arf.” Kosmo gave him a tiny nod and quickly bolted off in the direction of Shiro’s place. He really hoped that this was the right decision.

Stealing up their nerves, Keith walked out into the clearing. He could feel eyes on him immediately and he couldn’t help but growl. From out of the trees a woman with short hair stepped out. She had a stone cold look on her face that just made Keith growl more.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Acxa. I’m a werewolf that-”

“Did you kill those wolves?”

“What wolves?”

“The she-wolf and her pups!” Snapped Keith. There was no way Kosmo would have reacted the way he did if he didn’t feel slightly scared or upset about who he was smelling. “I saw you at the pool before. You were with a few other people and Lotor. Where are they? Circling me? Making sure I can’t escape if I try to run?”

“Awwwww.” Whined another woman. She walked out of the treeline, flicking her ponytail to get some of the leaves out of it. “You. You are no fun. Like seriously man. What the hell man?”

A larger, more muscular woman crossed her arms. She had a smirk on her face that sent a shiver down Keith’s spine. There was another woman wearing a hoodie over her head and obscured her face. 

Lotor was there too. He looked just as devilish as he did when he first saw him. “To think we’d meet again little puppy.”

“I’m not a puppy.” Growled Keith. “You bastards killed those wolves didn’t you?”

Lotor shrugged. “Does it really matter?”

“Yes it fucking does!” Snapped Keith. “Firstly, they were just an innocent family! Secondly, wolves are our ancestors! How the fuck can you just go and slaughter wolves? You didn’t even eat them! You just murdered them because they were there and existed!”

“We clearly have a different understanding of the sacred.” Said Lotor. “If that she-wolf really wanted to live she would have fought back harder for herself and her cubs.”

“One adult wolf verses five werewolves is not a fair fight!” Barked Keith. He could feel his gums starting to ache. It was the last night of the run and it was so close to nightfall. 

“And now it’s five verses a domestic.” Spat Lotor. “A domestic that doesn’t deserve to be a werewolf. A weak werewolf like you doesn’t deserve to breath the same air as us. Consider this us getting rid of the bad blood within all the werewolf bloodline. Zethrid, try not to kill him before he transforms. I want to see what kind of pathetic mutt we’re dealing with.”

The muscular woman cracked her knuckles. “No promises.”

While Keith’s attention was focused on Zethrid, the woman with the ponytail lunged at him but before she could reach him a gunshot ran out as the dirt between them seemed to explode. Standing at the edge of the clearing was a very pissed off looking Shiro.

Almost instantly the woman with the ponytail went into hysterics. “He tried to shoot us! We’re just some lost hikers and this crazy just just tried to kill-”

“Shut up.” Growled Shiro. “I know you five are not the werewolves that live in this area. Now back the fuck up or I’m foing to start shooting these pure silver bullets into your ugly faces.”

The woman pouted and crossed her arms. “Well it was worth a shot.”

“A hunter.” Muttered Acxa. “They are on friendly terms with a werewolf hunter.”

A look of utter disgust painted Lotor’s face. “Disgusting… This pack is riddled with disgusting and stupid werewolves. How could any werewolf think it’s a good idea to be around a monster like him?”

“I’m not the asshole killing random animals.” Shiro pointed his gun right at Lotor. “So what’s it going to be? Dead or alive you four are getting off the mountain.”

Keith was confused. There were five; Acxa, the woman with the ponytail, the hooded woman, Lotor and… Zethrid was gone. Keith quickly looked over at Shiro, his anxiety rising. “SHIRO! BEHIND YOU!”

Shiro glanced behind himself just in time to see Zethrid leaping out and tackling him to the ground. She pinned his arm down with one hand and slammed his head into the ground with the other. His gun went off again and hit a tree. She bared her fangs that were just itching to go full canine so he could rip into Shiro’s throat. She looked like she was about to do that right then and there.

That was until a brown blurr ripped her off of Shiro and pinned her to the ground. It was Adam. He looked like he was right on the verge of turning judging from the way his chest was heaving and his muscles were bulging under his skin.

“What the fuck did you just try to do to my mate?” He growled. “What the fuck did you just try to do? Answer me you fucking bitch!” He was seconds away from biting her throat out before he even turned.

The woman with the ponytail let out a yelp as Curtis grabbed her by her hair and yanked her back onto her ass. He seemed oddly calmed as he yanked her back up by her hair and put her in a choke hold. 

“Wow.” Remarked Curtis. “Your neck feels so fragile. I could snap it like a twig without even trying. Like swatting a fly. A fitting punishment for a bug annoying my mate and his brother.”

While they were distracted keith quickly tackled Acxa and Shiro pointed his gut at Lotor and the woman in the hood. The woman in the hood at least had the decency to put her hands up. Once things had calmed down somewhat, though Keith was struggling slightly with keeping Acxa still. The strength of Dire wolves was something to be feared.

Shiro glared at Lotor, but kept an eye on the other woman. “Okay… Let’s try this again. Keith, who are they?”

“Galra.” Said Keith. “They killed Kosmo’s family.” Hearing that made the Dire wolves growl darkly and tighten their grips on the werewolves they caught.

“Werewolves like you disgust me.” Said Curtis with a slight snarl. “What kind of monsters slaughter their ancestors for sport? A mother alone with their cubs. Vile and loathsome things. You don’t even deserve to be called werewolves.”

“I believe there has been a horrible misunderstanding.” Said Lotor in a calm voice. “I have no idea what’s actually going on here but we were just passing through and wanted a meeting with the local pack leader and-”

“I’m right here.” Growled Kolivan. He and several other werewolves had entered the clearing. All drawn to the sound of gunshots. Kolivan strided towards Lotor with a look in his eye that said he was going to kill him. “I heard everything. You murdered four wolves on my mountain. You corner one of my pack members. You attack one of our friends. Do you expect us to even let you speak?”

Lotor frowned. “I see… I guess we don’t really have much of a choice here, do we?”

Keith groaned a little as he could feel his bones and muscles getting painful. He knew it was pretty much the same for everyone else. The discomfort was written all over everyone’s face. If they were going to do something they needed to do it soon. He needed to do it soon. If he didn’t, then Acxa was going to throw him off.

Keith yelped as his body had reached its limit and his transformation rocked his body along with everyone else within the clearing. He ended up being a tiny pomeranian standing on top of a black furred Anthro werewolf. Acxa looked just as surprised to see Keith as Keith was to see her.

Lotor looked like a silver wolf with an immaculate coat. If he wasn’t a monster he might have looked halfway decent. He snarled at Kolivan, but the once hooded quickly dashed towards Kolivan. Her fangs were bared and flaws were out. A shot rang out from Shiro’s gun and the woman fell to the ground in a bloodied heap. 

It seemed like forever before anyone else moved, though in reality it was probably only a few seconds. Keith was suddenly thrown into a tree by Acxa in her race to quickly free her friends from Curtis and Adam so they could back up Lotor. Though it wasn’t that difficult for the other werewolves to free themselves from the dire wolves. 

The remaining four quickly scattered with at least five werewolves following each. There was no way they were going to let them leave the mountain alive. The only ones left in the clearing were Shiro, Adam, and Curtis. Though they were more interested in making sure that Shiro was okay, rather than the fact that Keith had been thrown into a tree.

 _“Are you okay?”_ Whined Adam. _“She didn’t hurt you did she?”_

 _“Well I can’t smell blood, so he’s okay.”_ Said Curtis quietly as he nuzzled his mate’s hand.

“I’m okay guys. Really.” Reassured Shiro. “Where’s Keith?”

 _“Up here!”_ Called Keith. _“Help!”_

Shiro walked to the tree where Keith was barking and caught him when he fell out. He quickly looked Keith over and tried to make sure he wasn’t hurt. “You all good? I’m so glad Kosmo came and got us. The poor thing was barking and freaking out. Adam and Curtis read his body language quicker than me and they told me to get my gun.”

 _“Thanks guys.”_ Said Keith as he jumped down to the ground. He quickly stretched and looked over at Adam and Curtis. _“Where’s Kosmo now?”_

 _“He ran back towards your cabin.”_ Said Curtis. _“I think he ran back to where he felt safe?”_

 _“Maybe…”_ Muttered Keith. _“I’m going to go home… Lance was meant to meet me there… I need to get there before he runs off trying to find us…”_

 _“You do that. We’re going to hunt the others.”_ Said Adam. _“I can’t forgive them for trying to hurt you or Shiro.”_

Keith nodded and quickly ran off in the direction of home. He needed to make sure that Lance was okay, that Kosmo was okay. As he got closer to his cabin. The distressed whining of a pup in need of comfort and the distressed sounds of someone that didn’t know what was going on. 

With speed, Keith jumped over a rock and ran towards Lance. He was trying his best to comfort Kosmo. _“It’s okay.”_ He said as he tried to nuzzle the pup’s distress away. _“Nothing is wrong. I’m here. Keith is here.”_

Hearing that Keith was there made Kosmo look around. He saw Keith and practically tackled him as he cried and whimpered. The poor puppy was scared out of his mind. Keith did his best to try and hold him and comfort him. _“It’s okay Kosmo. I’m back. I’m okay. Nothing bad happened to me.”_ He looked up at Lance. _“We need to get inside, now.”_

The group quickly made their way inside the cabin and Lance very went to the bedroom. He picked both Kosmo and Keith up, quickly putting them on the mattress before he quickly got up and wrapped around them.

 _“What happened?”_ Asked Lance. _“Why is Kosmo so scared?”_

Keith quickly filled him in about how they ran into the Galra and he told Kosmo to get Shiro. Then Kolivan showed up and one of the Galra got shot in the chest. Now everyone was hunting down the rest.

Lance looked scared and nodded slowly. _“Okay… but what happens to the dead ones? Like, will they look like werewolves or what?”_

 _“They will look human until the morning. When the sun comes up they will look human again and stay human.”_ Said Keith. _“Kolivan will call Iverson in the morning and tell him they found some dead hikers mauled by animals… Since it’s on Kolivan’s land they won’t be allowed to hunt here.”_

Lance nodded and curled protectively around the the two of them. _“... I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help…”_

 _“It’s okay.”_ Said Keith quickly. He nuzzled Lance’s paw. _“I’d have been horrified if you were there. The Galra hate domestics. I’m happy that you were safe here so you could calm Kosmo.”_

_“I didn’t really calm him…”_

_“You calmed him more than if he came here and he was alone.”_ Said Keith. _“Thank you for being here…”_

 _“Yeah…”_ Lance licked both Keith and Kosmo. Kosmo seemed to relax a little, but he stayed pressed against the both of them. Keith was just happy that both Kosmo and Lance were safe. _“Guess we’re having a night in tonight?”_

 _“Oh yeah. No one is leaving tonight for any reason.”_ Said Keith. _“If you need to take a shit do it in a corner and we’ll deal with it in the morning.”_ He didn’t want to admit he was a little more shaken up than he felt he should be. Acxa could have just ripped his head off if she felt like it. It was probably the closest Keith had ever been to dying.

He felt Lance nudging his ear. _“Hey. Are you okay?”_

_“Just a little shaken up… Probably will be for the next few days.”_

_“Oh, anything I can do to help?”_

_“... Can I stay at your place for the next few days?”_ Asked Keith. _“It’s in town and everyone is kind of protective of Garrison. Especially now. We do need to make sure that humans don’t get hurt… It’ll be the safest place for a while…”_

 _“I see…”_ Lance wound himself as tightly as he could around the two smaller dogs. _“I’ll keep you guys safe tonight as best I can..._

 _“Thanks Lance.”_ Keith wouldn’t admit it, but being there with Lance did make him feel safe. He knew that Kosmo felt the same way. He hoped this night would end quickly. He just wanted it to be over.


	39. Character arch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone gets to complete their character arch this chapter. Also, Kosmo loves cheese cubes. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

The next day Kolivan allerted the Sheriff about an animal mauling that killed several hikers and wanted him to come over and remove the bodies. The mountain was safe again for the pack… On the flip side the townies were rightfully scared of a bear attack. This put the pack in an interesting position. They pretty much needed to find a bear or something to shoot to calm everyone down. Shooting and not eating the bear would be a huge waste in their opinion, but it had to be done.

Keith wasn’t really a part of all that since he had decided to live with Lance for a few days. Kosmo was more than pleased to be walking around Lance’s home. Mainly because the man would slip him human food. Keith was not pleased to see Lance feeding Kosmo a cheese cube.

“It’s just a little treat!” Whined Lance. “Kosmo deserves a treat!”

“You shouldn’t feed him cheese.”

“Why not?”

“Because he is a wolf! Cheese is not part of a wolf’s natural diet!” Snapped Keith. “I want Kosmo to eat as much of a normal wolf diet as possible.”

Lance pouted and picked Kosmo up. “Look at this face and tell him he can’t have cheese.”

Keith looked at Kosmo. “No cheese.”

Kosmo huffed and glared at him. “Arf.”

“No cheese.”

Kosmo huffed and looked away from him.

“... Are you ignoring me?”

“Arf.”

“... Kosmo’s ignoring me.”

Lance chuckled and cuddled Kosmo. “Well Kosmo likes cheese.” He fed the pup another cheese cube which made Keith groan in frustration.

“You know what? Fine. If Kosmo gets the squirts you’re cleaning it up.”

“Squirts?”

“Diarrhea.” 

“Ew…”

There was a knock at the door and Keith went to answer it while giving Lance and Kosmo warning looks. He opened the door and standing there was Hunk. He seemed a little surprised that Keith was greeting him, but grinned and quickly embraced him in a hug. Keith awkwardly hugged him back.

“Hey Keith.” He said. “How are you?”

“Hey big guy. I’m good. Come on in.”

Hunk walked in and happily greeted Lance and Kosmo. Mostly Kosmo. The puppy had won everyone’s hearts in an instant. “Kosmo’s starting to get pretty big.” Noted Hunk.

“Takes about two years for wolves to become adults.” Said Keith.

Lance grinned and hugged Kosmo some more. “Yep. My son is going to become a handsome big boy.”

“Hey, Kosmo’s mine.”

Lance pouted and cuddled the pup. “He likes me better. I feed him cheese.”

“Don’t feed him cheese!”

Hunk sighed and started texting someone on his phone. “... According to Pidge, Kosmo can have a little cheese.”

“Ha! I win!” Lance stuck his tongue out and fed Kosmo another cheese cube. He looked up at Hunk and grinned. “So what’s up Hunk?”

He shrugged. “Well, I know you two are safe and everything, but those hikers did get killed…” 

Keith shrugged. “Kolivan’s on it. We’re doing more patrols around Garrison. Just stay inside and practice bear safety.”

“So it is a bear?”

“That’s what Iverson and Kolivan said it was.” Said Keith. “So, I’m going to be living here for a while. I don’t have a gun licence and I have Kosmo to take care of.”

“Well that’s a relief.” Said Hunk. “Like no offence Lance, but knowing your luck you’d end up getting eaten by a bear.”

Lance looked like he was going to argue with him, but he quickly shrugged and went back to patting Kosmo, he seemed to agree with Hunk’s statement. To be fair, Keith was pretty sure that Lance would get eaten by a bear if he wasn’t careful.

“Speaking of bears…” Muttered Keith. “Some asshole is probably going to put bear traps out to try and catch the bear. Way too dangerous. Could kill some deer or a wolf. We don’t need more dead wolves on the mountain.” He didn’t want more orphans like Kosmo. “It makes it way too dangerous for us to walk around the mountain too. A few years ago some shit head left out a bear trap and it ripped someone’s leg off. Almost killed them.”

“I remember that.” Said Hunk. “Didn’t you guys sue them because it was private property?”

“Yep. We took him for as much money as we could.” Said Keith. “They guy didn’t even want or need all that money. Just took enough for medical bills and told Kolivan to keep the rest so we can sue the shit out of the next bastard that fucks with our mountain.”

“... Fair enough.” Said Hunk. “I’m still worried about you guys… Is Shiro okay? He kind of lives right at the edge of town, right?”

“Shiro has a gun. He’ll be fine.” Said Keith. He tried to move Kosmo away from Lance to avoid him getting fed more cheese. “Now, you’re going outside. You need to go out and pee.” Kosmo whined but let Keith take him into the backyard. He put Kosmo down and lightly nudged his back leg. “Okay. Go pee or whatever.”

Kosmo huffed and went about sniffing out a good bathroom spot. He seemed to like peeing on a rock near the edge of the property. Probably because it was also one of the places Lance would scent mark since Keith had told him to. 

He remembered when he was a small pup. He wandered around the family cabin and promptly peed on everything that Korlia had peed on. Sure it took a long time since he was a tiny dog with an itty bitty bladder. He had to get three drinks before he was able to finish. 

He couldn’t help but laugh a little at the memory. He still remembered his parents sitting on the back step with a bowl and a bottle of water. Krolia had told him that he didn’t have to do this just because he was a werewolf. Keith didn’t care. He needed to scent mark around the house too. His dad, being human, didn’t really understand what was going on but was more than happy to provide Keith with more water.

Speaking of his dad, he might go to the graveyard soon and see how his head stone was doing. Maybe check on the cremation pit? He could take Kosmo along with him. It would be a good day out for them. More than likely Kolivan would have buried Kosmo’s family there too.

Suddenly Kosmo’s ears perked up and he started walking out of Lance’s backyard and towards the woods. Keith just sighed and followed the pup out. He probably smelled a squirrel or something like that.

***

Inside, Lance had gotten Hunk something to drink and they were just chilling on the couch. It felt like forever since they actually caught up. Hunk had been a little busy since one of the ovens in their bakery had broken. It was pretty annoying and they had to close things down a lot earlier than they usually did. But it wasn’t too bad. The oven would be fixed next week.

“Man, that sucks.” Said Lance. “You already get up at the asscrack of dawn to bake. Maybe you guys can get an early night’s sleep?”

“I guess… Anyway, what’s new in your world?”

Lance very well couldn’t have just talked about the werewolf dramas that were happening in the pack. “Um, nothing much. Keith’s staying here with Kosmo for a few days,”

“Because of the bear attack?”

“... Yes.”

“Understandable… You think they will catch the bear soon?” 

“Oh yeah, Kolivan’s on top of it.” Said Lance. He didn’t really know what Kolivan was going to do and did not know what he was planning on doing with that. “To think five people got attacked.”

“Five? I heard it was four.” Said Hunk.

“I heard it was five?” Lance was pretty sure that Keith had mentioned that there were five people. Four women and one man. Maybe they just hadn’t found the last one yet or Kolivan had decided to keep the last one alive for some reason. He really didn’t want to know if that was the case. He really didn’t want to know how werewolves tortured each other. That was just scary.

Hunk shrugged. “Maybe it was five? I’ll check around but I heard it was four hikers so far, Haven’t been identified yet, but it was five? I really don’t want to fact check it… It was pretty brutal.”

“Yeah… Hope they catch that bear soon…”

***

Keith followed Kosmo a fair bit away into the woods. After a while Kosmo picked up speed and so did Keith. He started to pick up on what Kosmo was smelling. Blood. Fresh blood. He swore if it was some dead animal he was not going to be happy if Kosmo decided to roll around in it.

Slumped next to a tree was a bloodied and injured man with long silver hair. Lotor. He seemed alive, but just barely. Kosmo bared his fangs and growled at the man. Said man glanced up at him. He looked tired. More than likely due to blood loss.

“Oh, it’s the mutt.” He grumbled.

Keith frowned and stood between Lotor and Kosmo. “You look like shit. The pack didn’t get you?”

They chuckled. “Your pack? Your group of stupid idiots that sleep with hunters and fuck domestics… You can’t take us all down…”

“Four are already dead.” Said Keith. “If it’s any consolation our pack does it quickly so they didn’t suffer… But I think they kind of had to rip them up a little to make it look like an animal attack.”

“I see…” Lotor slowly propped himself up against the tree trunk. He had a deep bite mark on his side and a large claw mark on his chest. “So… what now? Are you going to kill me like a good little domestic? Going to follow your pack’s orders?”

“When you’re part of a pack you follow the orders of the pack leader.” Said Keith calmly. Keith knew he should probably have felt scared, but honestly, without Lotor’s pack and with him being all bloodied and on death’s doorstep, he didn’t look very intimidating. He looked so small. Then again most creatures did when they were close to death.

“Just kill me already.” Growled Lotor.

Keith shrugged. “Why? I honestly don’t have much of a grudge against you. However I know someone else that has one huge grudge against you and you pack of murderers.” He looked down at Kosmo. He was pawing at the ground and baring his fangs. It seemed a little messed up, but Krolia did teach Keith how to hunt by holding down rabbits and letting Keith break their necks. This was pretty much the same thing. “Kosmo, get him.”

The pup growled and launched at Lotor. He went right for the neck and ripped in as best he could. Lotor was already dying and couldn’t even find the strength to protect himself if he wanted to. The man let out a small wheeze before he finally seemed to die. 

Keith walked over to Kosmo and very carefully pulled him away from the dead werewolf. “Okay, that’s enough. You got him. Good boy… We need to go back and call the Sheriff.” Kosmo made a dismissive noise. “Hey, I don’t like it either but we found him we have to report this. Okay?”

Needless to say Hunk and Lance were freaking out when they saw how bloodied Kosmo was. They called the Sheriff and when Iverson came over Keith spun a story about Kosmo wandering off because he smelled something. Then they happened to find some random dead body. Kosmo, being a wolf did start licking and biting him just out of curiosity. For the moment Iverson seemed to believe him, if only by a slim margin.

Keith knew that Lance didn’t buy it. He’d fill him in on it later. After Kosmo had been given a proper bath. The poor thing was all bloody but looked extremely proud of himself. Keith was very proud of him too. This, as far as Keith knew, was Kosmo’s first recorded kill. He might be okay with Keith having a few more cheese cubes for being such a good boy.

When Iverson and Hunk eventually left, Keith gave Lance the full explanation. Hearing what happened seemed to worry Lance a lot. “Does this mean Kosmo has a taste for blood? Like, I know some farm animals, like pigs, get put down if they get a taste for human blood. What if Kosmo starts attacking people?” 

“Kosmo likes cheese better than people.” Said Keith as he rubbed the puppy down with a towel. “Besides. It was all about getting closer. They killed his family. Now Kosmo is vindicated and his revenge is complete.”

“His character arch is done.”

“Yep.”

“Yip!”

Keith smiled and patted Kosmo. “Yep. You are a fully recognised character. Now, go forth and do the main character stuff.” Kosmo took a few steps away from Keith before he stretched, yawned and flopped down. He was tired.

Lance rolled his eyes and grabbed a dog brush. “Looks like murdering a werewolf takes a lot out of a puppy, huh?”

“Yep… Want me to cook dinner?” 

“It’s premade oven lasagna.” Said Lance. You just have to put it in the oven.”

“I can do that.”

“Okay.” 

Keith walked to the kitchen and checked that the oven was preheated. He then put the lasagna in the oven and fixed the timer and looked back over at Lance. He did seem calmer when he was brushing the puppy, but there was something else. He still seemed apprehensive about something.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“Huh?”

“Something is bothering you.” Said Keith. “What’s up?”

Lance shrugged. “I don’t know… I just… I know werewolves are vicious and stuff but still… Murdering each other seems a little… I’ve always been uneasy about murder. Hunting is different, but we eat what we hunt but I… I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Keith sat next to him and ran his fingers through Lance’s soft hair. “This hardly ever happens. We were just defending the pack. The pack is important. The Galra pack is really dangerous. We wouldn’t have done anything if we didn’t think they were a threat. I’m sorry if it upset you…”

“I know… It’s just kind of confusing to me. But I know you guys aren’t bad people. I just… I have no idea.”

“... I guess it can be kind of hard.” Admitted Keith. “Growing up the way I have has been very different to you. We don’t really care too much for most human laws and we do see killing as an appropriate form of punishment… Most humans don’t agree with that, but we aren’t humans Lance. We’re werewolves. We have to find a balance between our human and animal sides.”

“I guess I’m still having some trouble with that.” Muttered Lance.

Keith frowned and hugged his boyfriend tightly. “It’s okay. I’ll help you find a balance. It will be okay… I’ll keep looking after you and being a werewolf guide as long as you need me to be.”

Lance leaned into Keith and lightly nuzzled his neck. “I know… I have to unlearn some human stuff and learn werewolf stuff… I still have no idea what I’m doing half the time.”

“I have no idea what I’m doing when I interact with humans.” Admitted Keith. “Never have.”

“Yeah… Oh, that reminds me, family cookout at my place on Saturday.”

“Oh cool. Have fun.”

“Dude, you’re coming too.”

“... What?”

Lance rolled his eyes. “You’re my boyfriend. We’ve been boyfriends for months. Time to introduce you and our son to my family.”

“... What?”


	40. The cookout

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick warning, there are mentions of vomit in this chapter. Nothing overly graphic, but it is there. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Keith was an anxious ball of anxiety. Sure as far as he knew no one wanted him dead, for once, and everything had technically calmed down… But still, he didn’t like this. He was wearing his nicest clothes and had given Kosmo a bath before they got in Lance’s car, but now, he was worried. They were parked outside the McClain household and Lance was trying to psych Keith up.

“My family already likes you.” Said Lance. “My parents think you’re cool.”

“Do they know you’re gay?”

“They know I’m Bi.” Said Lance. “I have brought boys home before.”

“Right… And your siblings are?”

“Also here.” 

“...” Keith let out a small, high pitched whine and sunk into his seat. Kosmo seemed super happy to be there and was attempting to open the backdoor.

Lance gently squeezed Keith’s hand. “It’s okay. I’ll be with you the whole time. Yeah? And Kosmo’s here. He’s gonna be your emotional support wolf.”

“Yeah…” He looked back at Kosmo looking super excited to get out. With a sigh, Keith reluctantly got out and let Kosmo out too. The pup happily ran around the sidewalk and did a bit of a happy dance. “Do you parents know I brought Kosmo?”

“Yes.” He walked up to the front door and knocked a few times. Rosa pulled open the door and wrapped her arms around Lance. “Hey mama.” Said Lance as he hugged her back. “Sorry I haven’t been around much.”

She chuckled and shrugged. “It’s no big deal. I know you live your own life.” She looked over Lance’s shoulder to see Keith and Kosmo. She grinned. “And I know you’ve been a little busy with your boyfriend and his dog.” Rosa happily waved them over. “Come in, come in. Everyone is already out the back. Is your dog good with kids?”

“Um… Maybe? As long as they don’t pull his ears or tail he should be fine.” Said Keith quietly.

Rosa nodded and led them into the backyard. Almost immediately Lance was tackled by two small kids yelling “Tio Lance!”

Lance grinned and quickly scooped them up. “Ah there you two are. Keith, these are my niece and nephew. Nadia and Silvio.”

The girl, Nadia, waved at Keith and looked at Kosmo. “Dog.”

“Yeah, that’s Kosmo.” Said Lance. “He’s still a puppy but he bites so be careful.” Lance then quickly introduced Keith to the rest of his family, that seemed to be watching Keith with interest. “My older twin by three minutes, Rachel, my sister Veronica, Luis and his wife Lisa, and my oldest brother Marco. Where’s dad?”

“Bathroom.” Called Marco as he took a beer out of the cooler.

Julio walked out of the house and patted Lance’s back. “Good to see you could make it. Hey Keith. Glad you could make it. Long time no see.”

Keith nodded a little. “Y-yeah. You guys not having any trouble with any pests, are you?”

“Nah we’re good.” Said Julio. “You just relax. Grab a beer. Sit down. Your dog need some water? We can put a bowl out for him.”

“Kosmo should be fine for the moment. Thanks for the offer.” The puppy in question was happily exploring the yard while Nadia and Silvio were watching him and trying to figure out how to lure the puppy over so they could pat him. There wasn’t any food left yet. At least not little nibbles for them to eat.

“So Keith-” said Rachel. “-what do you do for a living? Lance said you don’t really have a job?”

Lance shot Rachel a pissed off look while Keith just shrugged. “I um… I just do odd jobs here and around the town. I’m pretty good at finding and catching mice and stuff… Kind of just doing pest control and stuff… I do well for myself.” 

“That’s good. Not really a stable income though, huh?”

Keith shrugged and kind of just kicked at the ground. “I don’t know. I don’t really buy stuff. It’s kind of like for emergencies and stuff. Medical bills and stuff I can’t make or trade myself. Stuff like that… Food for Kosmo. He’s just a wolf cub after all.”

“That’s a wolf?” Asked Lisa in shock. She quickly moved her children away from him. “Shouldn’t it be on a leash or something?”

“... Kosmo isn’t dangerous…” Said Keith quietly. He crouched down and quickly called Kosmo over to himself. “I um… I didn’t think bringing him would be a problem. He’s still a little young to leave home alone…” Keith fucked up. He knew he fucked up. He should have left Kosmo back at Lance’s place. He should have stayed with Kosmo. They hated him now didn’t they? They probably thought he was awful for bringing a dangerous animal to the house. He felt horrible.

“Kosmo isn’t going to attack anyone.” Said Lance. “He’s a big baby. He’s never gone after anything bigger than a rabbit. Keith’s teaching him how to hunt like a wolf should. It’s really cool seeing Kosmo bringing down a rabbit and bringing it to Keith. It’s nice.”

Lisa still didn’t seem convinced and Keith felt small under her gaze. He shouldn’t have been here. He wanted to just find some place to hide away and wait until Lance could get him and they could go home.

“Wolves are cool!” Said Silvio.”Where did you get him?”

“I um, I found him.” Said Keith quietly. “His mum and siblings got attacked and Kosmo was the only one that survived… I live closest to the vets so I’m taking care of him.”

“What does he like?” Asked Nadia. She walked over and sat next to Keith. “Does he like schmackos?”

“... He likes rabbit and deer.” Said Keith. “And cheese. He really loves cheese.”

“Can he play fetch?” Asked Silvio.

“I don’t teach him tricks.” Said Keith. “I don’t think it’s right to teach a wild animal tricks.”

“Can we pet him?” Asked Nadia.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Said Lisa quickly.

“...” Keith felt really shitty about bringing Kosmo along. He led Kosmo over to the side of the backyard and just quietly tried to keep Kosmo entertained. It almost felt like he was back in high school, but now he had cleaner clothes and a wolf. He understood why Lisa was overly cautious of Kosmo, but he really was a good boy. He wouldn’t hurt anyone. Kosmo tried to climb onto his lap in his attempt to comfort him. Keith just cuddled him.

When Keith started to feel a little better, Lance walked over to them. “Hey, are you okay? I’m sorry about Lisa, she’s a little over protective of her kids… Plus she’s a little scared of big dogs but I thought Kosmo would be okay because he’s pretty small at the moment.”

“Should we just go?” Asked Keith quietly. “Like, Kosmo and I. We aren’t really part of your family and I don’t want to make this all awkward… It’s not a big deal really.”

Lance looked surprised before he quickly shook his head. “What? No. You and Kosmo are staying. Why would you think you made things awkward? I already told my parents you had a wolf puppy that you were bringing along. This is their house and if they didn’t want Kosmo here I would have told you.”

“... I didn’t bring Kosmo’s leash.”

“Doesn’t he hate that thing?”

“Yeah…”

“You just gonna sit here for a bit? I’ll tell everyone you’re just trying to calm Kosmo down a little since he’s not used to being around so many people. Okay?”

Keith was glad Lance was thankful that Lance was so understanding. “Thanks.”

“Want a beer?”

“Yes please.”

Lance kissed Keith’s forehead and quickly went to grab him a beer from inside. When he went back inside Kosmo started to get fussy, like a toddler. Keith sighed and tried to stop Kosmo from trying to get away from him.

“Come on, work with me here…” Muttered Keith. “I’m trying to make a good impression on Lance’s family… If they think I’m a weirdo they might not want me around him anymore. I don’t know how strong his family bonds are, but this could really make or break us.” Kosmo tilted his head slightly before he calmed down and stopped trying to squirm away from him. “Thank you.”

Lance came back over and gave Keith a beer. “Here. I know you like stronger stuff, but this is still pretty nice.”

“Thanks.” Keith took a sip. It was okay. Kosmo looked up and sniffed the bottle. He pulled a face and started sniffing the grass. It made Keith smile a little. Kosmo was a good boy.

Around that time Julio started up the barbeque. Keith was a little interested in this since he did prefer to cook over an open flame. Kosmo gave it a dismissive huff and didn’t seem to like it. That was until Luis started to bring out meat for cooking. It was at that point Kosmo tried to sprint off his lap to grab it, but Keith just managed to hold him back.

“No.” He said firmly. “That’s not for you.” Kosmo whined loudly like the big baby he was.

Lance’s other sister, Veronica, seemed to take pity on them and walked over with some pieces of ham and cheese. Kosmo happily ate it and decided he now liked her. Kosmo was easily persuaded with food. She happily patted Kosmo a few times.

“So Lance says you’re living off the grid?”

“Y-yeah?”

“Can you suggest some easy to grow vegetables?” She asked. “I’m thinking of starting a garden but I want to grow something easy and low maintenance. I’m thinking maybe a herb garden?”

Keith was surprised but smiled and nodded. He was happy to talk to Veronica about gardening. It was nice. She lived in a small apartment and couldn’t have a big garden like him, but Keith was more than happy to let her know how to take care of and grow basil and rosemary. After that Marco asked a few gardening questions. He was roommates with some friend and their friend kept getting slugs in the garden. 

As it turns out gardening was a big thing in Lance’s family. They apparently used to live on a farm before they all grew up and the parents sold it to retire to Mount Altea. They had a dairy farm but had their own personal garden. Julio grilled him about the best way to grow carrots in the mountain.

While Keith was doing this, Kosmo managed to wander off and begged for cheese from Nadia and Silvio. They also fed him some bits of sausage when no one was looking. Kosmo was on his best behaviour and let them pat him and give him belly rubs.

It made Keith smile when he saw how happy Kosmo was. Though he was still a little wary of Lisa suddenly getting overprotective of her kids and accidently hurting Kosmo in an attempt to help her kids. It was fair enough. Keith knew how protective mothers could be. Hell, he was very protective of Kosmo.

After that everything really calmed down. Keith was happy enough to sit back and actually have fun with the McClain family. They were nice to him and didn’t judge him too harshly for living off the grid. Luis and Julio seemed to be really interested with how Keith was able to live off the grid for so long. It was nice. It kind of reminded Keith of the usual get togethers he had with his own pack, just with less werewolves.

He did wonder what Lance’s parents would say if they found out that Lance was a werewolf. They might freak the hell out about it. Most people probably would. Humans usually tended to not embrace things that could change like they could.

“Papi!” Whined Nadia. “Can I have more sausages?”

“I already gave you three.” Said Luis. “Why do you want so many?”

“I wanna feed Kosmo.” She gestured over to her brother and the pup. He was currently feeding Kosmo some sausages.

“I think Kosmo’s had enough sausages…” Said Luis. He glanced over at Keith in a subtle attempt to try and get him to say something.

Keith nodded a little. “Yeah. Kosmo shouldn’t be eating so many sausages. I try to feed him raw foods like deer and rabbits… Sometimes he gets berries, but mostly meat.”

“Oh…” Nadia looked over at the puppy again. “He’s eating grass.”

“What?!” Keith quickly went over to Kosmo and scooped him up away from Lance’s nephew. “Sorry, Kosmo’s gonna puke.” He managed to move Kosmo to the side of the yard just in time for the little wolf to hurl and purge his stomach. Keith sighed and patted his back. “You ate a spicy sausage didn’t you?” The puppy whined. “Thought so.”

“So eating grass means he’s gonna puke?” Asked Silvio.

Keith nodded. “Yeah. When dogs eat grass it’s because they have eaten something funny that doesn’t agree with him. Kosmo hasn’t eaten spicy foods before. I keep his food really plain and simple. Did you feed him something spicy?”

“I didn’t think it was that spicy…”

Keith shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. Just be a little more mindful next time. Okay?”

Rose walked over to them with a water bowl. “Does Kosmo need a drink of water? Poor dear… Do you want to take him inside? I have a nice blanket he can lay on if you like?”

Keith was very touched by her kindness. “Thank you. I think we’ll just stay outside for the moment in case Kosmo isn’t done being sick yet.”

“Okay. But don’t hesitate to do it if you need to. Wouldn’t want you to have to run off to the vet because your poor dog is ill.” She reached down and gave Kosmo a few pats. The pup lightly wagged his tail. He looked happy to be given all the love possible after being sick.

“Thank you.” Keith spent most of the rest of the day sitting in the shade with Kosmo on his lap. The pup was sick one more time and sulked about it. Keith just shook his head and patted him some more and offered him some water, which the pup happily took. 

It reminded him of when he was younger and ate some spoiled meat during a full moon. It did not sit right at all and he ended up eating a whole bunch of grass. He didn’t know why he was going it until he felt his stomach lurch and he puked on the welcome mat. He was so worried that he was going to get in trouble for it he actually tried to hide it under the house. Krolia had caught him in the act and got him to explain what he was doing.

It was embarrassing, but he told her everything and she sat down with him and made him eat more grass to make sure his stomach was fully purged. His dad was still alive then too, so he had come out with some water when he saw that Krolia was making Keith eat grass. It was apparently part of his wolf instinct to eat grass when he had an upset stomach. Something that was just ingrained in him.

He sighed again and patted Kosmo’s back. The puppy seemed tired and didn’t want to be here for too much longer. Keith looked up at Lance and waved him over when he saw him.

“Hey Keith, what’s up?” He asked. “Is Kosmo feeling any better?”

“He’s tired… I’m going to head back to your house so he can sleep.”

“Okay sure. I’ll let everyone know we’re going.”

“What? No. We can walk back.” Said Keith. “You haven’t seen your siblings in ages, right? I wouldn’t want you to run out on them.”

Lance smiled and gently patted Kosmo. “It’s okay. My siblings are staying for a few days. Luis and Lisa have an air bnb a few streets away, Marco’s staying here, and my sister’s have their own air bnb too. This was just a big get together. We can leave now.”

“... You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“... If you’re sure.”

Lance grinned and quickly went around to his parents, explaining the situation to them and before Keith knew it the McClain pack was patting his back and wishing Kosmo a speedy recovery. Keith sat in the car with Kosmo on his lap and the two of them drove back to his place.

“Um…” Muttered Keith as he ran his fingers through Kosmo’s fur. “So, do you think your family likes me?”

“Of course they liked you. Everyone likes you.”

“Lisa…”

“Is worried about big dogs.” Said Lance. “She’s not really a dog person. She warmed up to him eventually.”

“I guess…” Muttered Keith. “I’m still kind of worried about it though… You usually have to be accepted by everyone in the pack…”

“... You want to be accepted by my family?”

Keith nodded. “Well, yeah. I want your family to like me. My pack already likes you and you are part of our pack… I want to be part of your pack too.”

Lance smiled and reached over to gently hold his hand. “Yeah. I know my parents already think you’re awesome. Hell, you sorted out their pest problem and were super respectful. If anything, mama threw a bit of shade at Lisa for being rude about Kosmo.”

“Oh, okay.” Keith kept patting Kosmo. The pup seemed to be a little better now. “So today was a success?”

“I’d say so.”

That made Keith smile a little. He was glad that he hadn’t messed things up badly because he was socially inept and didn’t know what the hell he was doing. He felt a lot better now. Suddenly Kosmo reached and puked up a wad of grass onto Keith’s pants.

“... Thanks Kosmo.”


	41. Future talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's a good peek into what's gonna happen... Plus Kosmo being a baby. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Kosmo was feeling better after a quick power nap and trying to eat the coffee table by dinner time. Which was a huge relief to both Keith and Lance. The next day Keith made himself scarce with Kosmo. Talking about going out and teaching him how to track things down. Probably just an excuse for him to possibly avoid Lance’s family if they came over.

Veronica and Rachel did end up coming over midmorning. Lance was always happy to have them over. It meant a relaxing day of sipping wine and eating cheese and fancy cakes. It was always fun getting all the gossip about what was happening at their workplace.

Veronica was still as high powered as ever. She was taking her position at that marketing firm really seriously. Rachel was enjoying her job as a mechanic. She found it satisfying whenever someone demanded to see the manager and she turned up and they would lose their sexist minds.

“It’s pretty messed up.” Said Rachel. “But we all have a good laugh. But anyway, how did you score a cutie like Keith?”

Lance almost choked on his drink. “Rachel!”

Veronica smirked and gave a small, knowing nod. “Well, she does have a point. It certainly wasn’t for your brains.”

Lance gasped in shock. “Rude! I have you know Keith thinks I am very smart and he always listens to me when I speak about things.”

Rachel laughed. “Lancey, he lives off the grid. Talk to him about anything electronic and you’ll impress him.”

“You calling my boyfriend dumb?”

“Not at all.” Said Rachel. “I’m saying he lives off the grid so probably doesn’t know much about electronics. You, living on the grid, know more about electronics than he does. Same way he could probably impress you if he showed you how to do some off the grid stuff… Like hunting or something.”

Lance pouted. “I can hunt… Kind of… Keith is teaching me.” 

“Oh, what are you using?” Asked Rachel. “Gun? Bow and arrow? Knife?”

Lance didn’t think they would be very happy to hear that Keith was teaching him how to catch rabbits with his mouth. They had caught a beaver once, but Lance was the one that had to kill it since Keith’s little Pomeranian jaws couldn’t snap their necks.

“A bit of everything.” Said Lance. “Except guns. Keith doesn’t own a gun. Doesn’t like them. Too loud. Shiro has a gun though. He’s a good friend of Keith. His boyfriends are pretty cool too.”

Rachel sighed dramatically. “Are all the guys on this mountain gay or something.?

“Excuse you, but I am bi.”

“Okay, correction; are all the hot guys on this mountain gay or something?”

Lance pouted and crossed his arms. “You’re so horrible to me.”

Veronica shrugged. “We are your sisters. Anyway, Keith seems really nice. A little quiet, but nice. Have you met his family?”

“Oh yeah, I’ve met Krolia. She’s pretty cool.” Said Lance. “Though Keith was more raised by his group rather than her. She was off the mountain most of the time trying to make money to support them, so I’ve pretty much gone and met the rest of the group. They are all pretty cool. Kind of scary, but they like me so I’m happy.”

“That’s good.” Said Veronica. “How long have you guys been together?”

“Almost a full year now.” Said Lance. He smiled at that thought. It really had almost been a full year since he met the snappy little Pomeranian. He wanted to cuddle the cute little werewolf some more. He bet his sisters would completely dote and coddle Keith if they saw him in his werewolf form. He was too cute.

The sisters rolled their eyes and shook their heads. “When are you going to propose?” Asked Rachel.

“What?!” Squawked Lance as his face went red. “Me and Keith? What? No. No I… We haven’t really talked about getting married or anything… Like, I know he probably wouldn’t be happy living here, and I want to keep my bath…”

“Ignore her.” Said Veronica. “You know how she is sometimes. But he seems like a nice young man. A little shy, but sweet enough. He did bring that cute wolf with him.”

Lance grinned. “Yeah. Kosmo is awesome. He does get into everything though… He’s too smart for his own good I swear.”

“It’s nice that Keith cares about the environment.” Said Veronica. “Too many people would probably have just abandoned the poor puppy.”

“Yeah. The bush people around here are super respectful of the animals on the mountain. They actually own most of the mountain.” Said Lance. He got up and walked to the kitchen to see if he had any cake left. He found a box in the fridge and opened it up. Inside was a note; _I owe you one cake. Keith & Kosmo._

Lance chuckled and rolled his eyes. He quickly informed his sisters that he was going to be back in a few minutes. He was just going to pop down to Hunk’s bakery and grab a new cake. Rachel tried to sweet talk him into getting cupcakes too, but Veronica shot her down and told her to get them herself.

Hunk was more than happy to get Lance a new cake. An apple cinnamon cake. Veronica liked cinnamon, and Rachel liked apples. If neither of them wanted the cake he could just leave it out and be sure to receive another IOU note from Keith.

When he walked out he saw a Ulaz walking down the street. He smiled and waved at them. Ulaz waved back and walked over to have a talk with him. “Good morning Lance.”

“Morning Ulaz.” Said Lance. “What are you up to today?”

“I’m just going for a walk. How about you?”

“Oh, I’m good. All my siblings are here.” Said Lance. “I’m spending the day with my sisters.”

“That sounds nice. Have you introduced Keith to your pack?”

“Yeah. Everyone likes him.” Said Lance with a grin. “He was pretty quiet, but everyone likes him. If he feels like it, I think my parents are more than happy to accept him into our family pack.”

“That’s good… Guess we’re going to have to think about doing a bonding ceremony.” Mused Ulaz.

Lance frowned a little. “What’s a bonding ceremony?”

Ulaz chuckled. “I guess it’s kind of the equivalent of getting married? It pretty much just means when Spring comes along no one will bother trying to proposition either of you and you’ll pretty much be recognised as a couple in the eyes of the pack. Kolivan and Antok are bonded and Krolia was bonded with Keith’s father.”

“I see… So should I be asking them about this kind of stuff?” Asked Lance. 

“If you wish, but there is no rush.” Said Ulaz calmly. “I was just thinking out loud. Have a good day Lance.”

“You too Ulaz.” Lance was blushing now. First his sisters are joking about him getting married to Keith and now Ulaz was talking about getting werewolf married. Was this something he needed to talk to Keith about? They had only been dating for almost a year. Wasn’t this just a little too early? He didn’t know.

***

Keith and Kosmo ended up down by Krolia’s cabin. It was too late in the season for her to bother finding work off the mountain, and she already had more than enough to stay on the mountain for a few years comfortably. Kosmo was running around her house and trying to chase the rabbits that had made several warrens around her house. It wasn’t anything serious. He just liked chasing them.

Keith sat on the old swing, still surprised it could hold his weight after all these years. Krolia stood by him and watched the wolf puppy scaring the rabbits for life. It was kind of silly and cute. But the rabbits were definitely crapping themselves as they ran away from Kosmo.

“How’s things with Lance going?” She asked.

Keith shrugged. “I don’t know. Good I guess? I met his family pack yesterday.”

“How did that go?”

“Good… I think? I feel like they were judging me because I brought Kosmo along.” He muttered. “Lance said everyone liked me and were just worried because Kosmo’s a wolf, but I don’t know… I feel like I might have done something bad? I don’t know.”

His mother frowned and patted his head. “If Lance said you were okay then you are okay. It’s fine. Really. You worry too much.”

“... I haven’t talked to many people that aren’t part of the pack.” Said Keith quietly. “I don’t want to mess this up for him… Lance’s family’s really important to him. I just wanted to try and fit in with them. I want them to like me so I’ll be part of their pack…”

Krolia sighed and patted his head some more. “You’re thinking way too much. You just need to be yourself. Lance loves you and he said his family likes you too. It’s okay. Things are going to be okay. No need to panic.”

“... Okay.”

“You’re still panicking aren’t you?”

“Maybe…”

Krolia sighed and gently tugged him off the swing. “Okay, we’re going inside now.”

“What? Why?”

“Because you are all sad and as your mother I do not like it.” He pulled Keith inside and whistled for Kosmo to follow. 

The pup paused for a moment and happily followed the two inside. Kosmo was a very good boy and copied the adults as he too wiped his paws on the welcome mat before following them in. He made himself comfortable on the floor by the fireplace and happily thumped his tail.

While Kosmo was being adorable, Keith sat at the table, and Krolia started making tea for them. When she was done she brought it over to Keith and the two of them enjoyed sipping their tea quietly. It was a jasmine and lavender mix. Something that she would usually make when he was stressed and she was around. It was calming to him and made him feel a little better.

“Thanks…”

“No problem honey.” Said Krolia with a smile. “Now that you’re okay, do you want to talk some more or what? I’m happy to talk about whatever’s on your mind.”

“... I don’t know. I like Lance a lot. I really like him… I really do…” He sighed and scratched the back of his head. “I just don’t know what to do now. I don’t really know how to proceed from here. I want to keep getting closer to him but I don’t know how… I mean, we’re boyfriends and everything and getting married is kind of… I don’t like the idea of getting married after only a year…”

Krolia nodded a little and sipped her tea. “You know, you could just bond like your father and I did. It isn’t as legally binding as a human marriage, but it’s practically being married in werewolf terms.”

Keith nodded a little and looked down at his cup. “Do you think Lance would like that? Bonding?”

“He seems to take our traditions and customs in stride.” Said Krolia. She chuckled and drank some more of her tea. “You know, your father was the same. When he found out what I was he did everything he could to try and integrate himself into the pack. Though he was a bit of a baby when it came to getting bitten. He couldn’t stand blood.”

Keith rolled his eyes, but knew it was true. If it was a chunk of meat he was fine, but if it had skin, fur, and a face, his dad would faint. He looked like he was going to be sick any time he had to put a bandaid on any of Keith’s cuts or scrapes.

“So you’re saying my dad was like Lance?”

“Oh yes. Very much… Though a lot more good looking.”

“Lance is handsome.”

“Too skinny for me.” Said Krolia. “I like my men with more muscles.”

Keith pouted. “Lance has muscles…”

“Lean muscles.” Said Krolia. “I like bulkier muscles on my men.”

Keith shrugged. “Each to their own… So how does this bonding thing work? I haven’t seen a bonding ceremony thing before. What’s it like?”

“Well it’s kind of a private thing.” Said Krolia. “Though by default it’s usually done in the story cave, though there are a few other water basins it can be done in.”

“... We need water?”

“Oh yes. You have to be able to wade hip deep in the water at the very least.” Said Krolia. “So, you both strip down naked and stand in the water under the new moon with your fingers interlocked with your foreheads pressed together.”

“... I see.” Well, if skinny dipping under the new moon was the worst thing then he could probably convince Lance to do it.

“Then after about an hour Kolivan will give you a special drink in a ceremonial bowl. Hopefully you two won’t have a bad trip and drown.”

“Excuse me?”

She smirked. “I’m kidding. It’s just wine. You hold it and make Lance drink from it and then he will do the same for you. After that you two will be considered bonded… And hopefully not too plastered. Antok makes all wine for ceremonies very strong. I think he does it just to make the whole thing more interesting.”

“... So you and dad did that?”

“Yep. He wasn’t good with his wine and almost drowned.”

“... Are you serious?”

Krolia nodded. “Yep. Kolivan had to drag him out. Your father couldn’t hold his liquor to save his life. I’m glad you inherited my ability to drink… I’m pretty sure Akira was allergic to alcohol…”

“That’s a thing?”

“Hey, you’re allergic to milk.”

“Is lactose intolerance considered an allergy or an intolerance?” Asked Keith.

“Either way do you get bloated and have tummy troubles when you drink full cream milk.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Tummy trouble? Really? I’m not five anymore.”

“Yep, but you’re still my baby boy.” Said Krolia with a motherly smile, before it quickly turned into a wicked smirk. “Would you rather I call it for what it really was? Death farts and violent diarrhea?”

“... Why must you do these things to me?”

“Because I am your mother.” She finished her tea and looked at Kosmo. The puppy was tired from chasing rabbits all day and had passed out on the floor with his tongue lolling out of his open mouth. “... And as the grandmother to a star wolf I am worried about my grandson swallowing his tongue.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “He sleeps like that sometimes. He might look like he’s possessed by the demon that crawled out of Satan's asshole, but he’s comfy like that.”

“If you’re sure… But don’t come crying to me when he inhales his tongue by accident.”

“Kosmo might be a little dumb, but he’s a baby. He’ll grow out of it in a bit.”

“True… So what is Lance doing today?”

“His siblings are visiting.” Said Keith as he finished his tea. “I want them to have lots of family time together. He’s spending the day with his sisters and I think tomorrow he’s hanging out with his brothers, his brother’s wife, and his niece and nephew.”

“Are you going to tag along?”

“Depends… His niece and nephew liked Kosmo, but his sister in-law didn’t like Kosmo that much because he’s a wolf.”

“Ah, fair enough.” Krolia took his cup back to the sink. “Alright, if you want to, you can come back here tomorrow. I think Kosmo loved chasing the rabbits around my house.”

“I think he did too.” Keith looked back over at Kosmo. “... I’m going to have to carry him back home aren’t I?”

“Yep.”


	42. Organization

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much more fluff in this chapter. Hope you all like it. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

There was something comforting to Lance about waking up with his limbs tangled with Keith’s. He couldn’t tell if this was because he was in love with the sassy werewolf or if his werewolf instincts were telling him it was better to sleep next to someone. Either way there was nothing Lance loved more than seeing Keith’s sleepy face.

His mouth was always open just a little bit so that just the tip of his canines was visible. The slight lip twitch when he snored. The utter look of peace and serenity that came across his face. Keith’s hair always stuck up in any and every direction. He had adorable bed head. If Keith was a werewolf right now his ears would probably be twitching. 

Lance smiled and very gently pressed his lips against Keith’s forehead. He couldn’t help but grin when he saw a little movement under Keith’s eyelids for a few seconds before it stopped. It was cute. He smiled and very carefully moved out of Keith’s grip and headed to the kitchen to do a little bit of cooking.

Kosmo had woken up when he smelled bacon getting cooked on the stove. He would very lazily yawn and half heartedly yip at him. He was too tired to be really hungry, but he was hungry enough to make a fuss about it.

Lance chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure. Give me a second here. Your Aunt Pidge gave me a list of yummy things you can eat.” He looked at the list he had on his phone. “... Okay, you’re getting minced meat and eggs.”

Kosmo happily wagged his tail and plopped himself down on the carpet in the lounge room because it looked into the kitchen. It made Lance grin. He quickly finished making breakfast for him and Keith and then got Kosmo’s breakfast ready. The puppy did a little happy dance and wolfed down his food.

Lance patted his back and went to wake up Keith. His boyfriend had rolled onto his back and his shirt had ridden up over his stomach.

“...” A wicked smirk stretched across Lance’s face as this was way too good an opportunity to pass up. He very carefully sat by Keith and very slowly rubbed Keith’s belly. Keith made a very sleepy, but pleased noise. It egged Lance on further and rubbed his belly some more. He eventually got Keith’s foot to start twitching a little. Lance had found Keith’s sweet spot and continued to rub that spot.

Keith hummed a little and slowly opened his eyes. “... What are you doing?”

“Good morning sleepy head.” He kissed Keith gently on the lips.

Keith kissed him back and smiled. “Morning to you too… Were you rubbing my stomach?”

“Yes. And you know what? I got you to kick your leg.”

“... Dick.”

“Well, come and get your breakfast before Kosmo decides he wants more than a pound of beef and half a dozen eggs.” Lance pulled Keith to his feet and led him to the kitchen where Kosmo had egg yolk all over his muzzle. He glanced up at them for a moment and wagged his tail before he went back to eating.

Keith was very pleased by the bacon, eggs, sausages and toast that Lance had made. He sat down and happily ate it with as much grace as Kosmo ate his food. Lance had long since learned it was best to leave out the paper towels when they got together to eat.

When Keith was halfway through eating Keith paused to drink some juice. “So…”

“So?”

“Hanging out with more of your family today?”

“That’s the plan… Do you think Kolivan would mind if we kind of walked out to near Thace’s place? The clearing there is really nice and Luis was talking about enjoying the outdoors since they live in a more city area.”

Keith shrugged. “It should be fine. Just make sure you’re on the side of the river that isn’t Thace’s house. He’ll get annoyed if you guys bug his chickens… We’re fine with people hiking through our mountain, we just get pissed off when people hunt and or destroy things on our land.”

“Fair enough. Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it…” He poked a yolk with his fork. “Um… Lance, I’ve actually meant to ask you something… It’s kind of important.”

“Sure. What’s up?” Asked Lance as he bit into his toast.

Keith seemed a little nervous. “Um so… this is kind of a big thing, and you can say no if you don’t want to. I totally understand. But like… Would you like to do a bonding ceremony with me?”

Lance almost choked on his toast. Keith wanted to do that? With him? He’d only kind of knew what that was all about. This was like getting werewolf married, right? Keith wanted to get married? To him? He made a high pitched noise that made both Kosmo and Keith jump in surprise.

“You don’t have to!” Said Keith quickly as his face went red. “I just thought that since we’ve been together for a while and we like each other and I… Don’t worry about it. Really. We can just keep doing what we are doing.”

“What? No!”

“No?”

“Yes! No, I mean…” Lance sighed heavily and reached over the table and happily grabbed Keith’s hands. “I want to bond with you. I’ll do it. I want to do it.”

Keith looked like someone had just flicked him in the nose. “Seriously?”

Lance grinned and nodded. “Yeah. I want to do it. I have no idea how this thing works, but I want to do it. When do we do it? Where? How many people need to be there?”

Keith looked slightly overwhelmed. “I um… I… The moon is waning at the moment, so a few days… The ceremony is done under a new moon, so like… I can talk to Kolivan today while you’re with your family and we can get everything ready in time for the next new moon?”

“Sounds perfect.” He quickly kissed Keith’s cheek and grinned even more when he saw how red Keith was. “I’m gonna go and get changed and then I’m gonna head out to pick up Marco. See you some time later tonight babe.”

***

Nadia and Silvio were super excited when they got to the little clearing near Thace’s place. Thace was out there doing some washing and just gave them a bit of a wave before going back to work. Lunis did question if they should be so close to Thace’s property, but Lance reassured him that it was all cool as long as they didn’t bother his chickens.

The kids went about kicking around a ball that Luis had brought with them. Luis ended up wandering over to have a quick talk with Thace. They seemed to get along pretty well. They both had a bit of a dad vibe going on. 

Marco and Lance ended up sitting under a tree and happily watched anything going on and talking. It was good to catch up with him. Marco was more than happy to talk about how things were going with work and how he missed living out in a more rural area, but he had a pretty good office job so he was at least happy that in the future he could buy a nice place in the country when he eventually retired.

“Yeah, a nice place with a good bit of land.” Said Marco. “Gonna raise chickens… Maybe alpacas.”

“Alpacas? Really?” 

“Heck yeah, you know how much alpaca wool goes for?” Asked Marco. “A lot. Plus the wool is softer and they have cute faces.”

Lance couldn’t help but laugh. Macro really loved animals. “Yeah. Sounds good. Don’t they spit?”

“Not as much as llamas. Llamas are assholes.” 

“Whatever you say.” Lance watched the kids abandon their game and start to walk around the clearing. They decided to skip stones across the river. It made him smile. 

Damn it, he was all smiles today. Ever since Keith asked him to bond with him his tailbone couldn’t stop tingling. Keith wanted to bond with him. He wanted to be werewolf married to him. Being werewolf married was… He couldn’t even think of the words for it.

He wondered what he would have to do to get bonded with Keith. He probably should have asked him, but he was just too excited. Maybe they would have to eat that Full-Moon stuff? Wouldn’t it have been easier to do it during a full moon? Would he have to catch another rabbit? Would they have to hunt something together? He wasn’t sure. But he was excited to find out.

“... Hey Marco?”

“Yeah?”

“What do you think of Keith?”

“Good musician. Married to Nicole Kidman. Australian. Why?”

Lance rolled his eyes and lightly shoved him. “My boyfriend you douchebag. Not Keith Urban.”

Marco laughed and quickly put Lance in a headlock. “I’m just messing with you. Keith seems fine. A little quiet, but that might have just been because he was nervous… He’s good to you right?”

“Yeah. Keith’s really good to me.” Said Lance as he removed himself from Marco’s headlock. “He makes me feel happy and safe… He’s really cool and usually tries to include me in what he’s doing.”

“Usually?”

“He tried to surprise me with a small extension to his own home… However it was kind of hard for me not to see it so he shooed me away while he was working on it.” Said Lance. “It all turned out alright in the end.”

“... How does one try and hide a house extension as a surprise?”

“I know, right? It was still really sweet.” Lance smiled. “Yeah… I really love him.”

“Whoa, you’re using the L word?”

“Yep.”

“Damn, must be serious.”

“It is serious. We are serious.” He smiled at the thought. Keith was wonderful and adorable and just so… Lance wanted to hug him and kiss him and just smother him with love. He was pretty sure this was more of a werewolf instinct than something he used to do.

“Tio Lance!” Called Nadia. “Come play with us?”

Marco grinned and gestured for Lance to get up. “Don’t keep them waiting.” Lance rolled his eyes and got up to play with the niece and nephew.

***

Keith managed to make his way to Kolivan’s place with no trouble. Antok was nice enough to play with Kosmo while Keith went to talk to Kolivan. He explained to him that he and Lance wanted to do a bonding ceremony.

The older male seemed surprised to hear it but was smiling anyway. “Of course. I’ll be more than happy to officiate the ceremony for you two.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?” Kolivan got up and walked over to a cabinet. He took a clay bowl out and blew some dust out of it. It was glazed and covered in beautiful patterns. He handed it to Keith and let him look it over more carefully. “This is the ceremonial bowl. You know what this is for?”

“Yeah, Krolia told me about what a bonding ceremony is… Do you think we should do it?”

The older man shrugged. “Everyone is different. Your father and mother were together for years before they decided they wanted to bond. Antok and I were together for about a month. No two couples are the same. If you two love and support each other then I have no reason to object to it… Are you having second thoughts?”

“No, I want to bond with him and he wants to bond with me… I just wanted to know what everyone else thinks. That’s all.”

Kolivan smiled and gently patted his head. “Don’t worry about it pup. Everyone likes Lance and he’s a good werewolf and human. I wouldn’t have even considered letting him into the pack if he was a terrible person. We all trust your judgement.”

Keith smiled at him. He was happy that Kolivan trusted him. Hell, Keith was happy enough that Kolivan trusted him to look after Kosmo. It made him feel a little more adult. “Can’t call me a pup anymore. There are new pups on the mountain.”

“True, but you’re always going to be a pup to me.”

Keith rolled his eyes and looked back down at the bowl. The inside ceramic was beautiful. Right at the bottom was a moon with stars speckled in the sky. It was beautiful and he thought that Lance would love it too. Maybe after this, if things worked out he might be able to talk about maybe getting married?

Human marriages were so crazy and expensive and so… white. Keith did not understand what was with all the white stuff. White dresses, white flowers, white suits, white ties, just so white. He knew for a fact that he wasn’t going to be able to keep anything that clean. Ever. He’d somehow get mud on something and then ruin the whole thing.

But that was a thought for later. After being bonded. Until then Keith had to focus on getting this organized. “So… Is there anything I can do for this?”

“Well, if you like you can find a body of water deep enough for you two to stand waist deep in it?” Suggested Kolivan. “If you can’t find anything suitable you can just use the story cave… We’ll just need to put some kind of anchored platform down so you can stand on it and not drown...”

Keith started to blush. He hadn’t been to the story cave since he and Lance had gone there during their heat. He felt like he might have shamed his ancestors by doing that. He really hoped he didn’t. Also, he really hoped that no one ever found out that they went out and did that in the story cave. He was pretty sure that Kolivan was not going to be very happy with him if he found out that Keith did some stuff in the story cave. He’d possibly get stuck in another pet carrier.

“Y-yeah. I’ll go and try to find a place…” He muttered. “Shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Good. Just find it and tell me where it is.” Said Kolivan. “Then we can get everything sorted… ANTOK!”

“WHAT?” Bellowed the other werewolf.

“Keith and Lance are going to do a bonding ceremony! Do we have any ceremonial wine?”

“A barrel!”

“Thanks!” He smiled down at Keith and patted his shoulder. “Okay. Now all we need is the location.”

“I’ll work on that.”


	43. Bonding ceremony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of smut in this chapter, so enjoy that. Also Kosmo being the cute baby he is meant to be. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Lance wasn’t too sure what to make of this bonding ceremony thing. Sure he knew it was meant to be at night under a new moon, and it had to do with water, but this was a little surprising. He was standing in the middle of the forest with Keith at the edge of some small lake. Kolivan was there too and he was pouring wine into a ceramic bowl.

They had gotten Shiro to baby sit Kosmo, which made Adam and Curtis very happy. Werewolves seemed to really love looking after puppies. Pack animals really did love having children around. It was really sweet. They were probably the best uncles for pup.

Lance sat next to Keith and kind of just waited. They smiled at each other and Keith seemed pretty happy about everything going on, so Lance just smiled back. So it seemed like this was a really private affair only overseen by the pack leader.

Kolivan flicked the side of the bowl and hummed a little. “Okay. It’s about time. Strip off and get in the water.”

“... Keith didn’t mention we need to get naked.” Muttered Lance.

Keith shrugged. “Face it Lance, most things werewolves do, we do naked.” He stood up and started to undress. Lance sighed and followed suite to strip down and get into the water with Keith. It was cold.

Kolivan on the other hand didn’t bother stripping down and pulled on fishing waders instead. Keith gave him a confused look. The pack leader just shrugged. “I don’t want to get wet. It’s cold… At least you two aren’t doing this in the middle of winter. That’s an endurance test.”

“I can imagine.” Muttered Lance. “I’m already cold…”

Keith frowned a little. “We don’t have to do this is too much for you…”

“What no. I’m just complaining because I don’t like the cold.” Whined Lance. “I’m Cuban. I crave the warmth.”

Kolivan chuckled a little and shook his head. “Anyway, are you two done yet? The sooner we get started the sooner you two can dry yourself off and put your pants on.” The two werewolves quickly agreed and Kolivan started. “Tonight, under the new moon when the goddess hides her face from us, we ask that she bless these two werewolves and join them in this, their bonding ceremony.”

He gestured for them to hold hands. Lance and Keith interlocked their fingers and stared into each other’s eyes. Keith’s eyes were beautiful. They were dark and stormy, but reminded him so much of the night sky. Keith leaned forward a little and Lance leaned in to kiss him.

Kolivan chuckled a little. “You press your foreheads together. Not kiss.”

Lance blushed and looked away. “Right… Sorry… Was too excited to hear what I needed to do about this...”

Keith rolled his eyes and pressed his forehead against Lance’s. “It’s fine. It was kind of cute.”

Before Lance could say anything, Kolivan quickly spoke up. “Okay… Tonight; Keith and Lance have taken up upon themselves to come before the sleeping goddess to ask for her blessings. They stand vulnerable and naked, not as two werewolves passing in the night, but as one beast. They stand here until their hearts and souls become one.” He took a stopwatch out of his pocket and hit start.

Lance stayed quiet this time. He wasn’t too sure how long they were going to have to stand like this, but Keith smiled softly at him and looked at him with those beautiful eyes of his. He was perfect. He couldn’t help but blush when he saw Keith staring back at him just as intensely.

“Can I talk?” Whispered Lance quietly.

“Maybe? We just need to be quiet. Kolivan will probably tell us if we need to shut up.”

“Probably… Have you lost the feeling in your toes or just me?”

“Just you, but I’m getting there.”

Lance chuckled a little and smiled. “This place is pretty nice. Is this where people usually do bonding ceremonies?”

“No… I um… I picked this place out for us…”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Lance could kind of see Keith blushing slightly. “I um… I wanted it to be special… If I didn’t choose a place we’d be doing this in the story cave.”

“Thank you. You chose a nice place.”

“Thanks.”

“... So how long until we can get out of the water?”

“About an hour.” Said Keith. He gently squeezed Lance’s hand and smiled at him. “We can do this.”

“Might not be able to feel my legs or anything after this, but okay.” He tilted his head slightly and lightly touched Keith’s nose with his nose. The two of them chuckled a little and grinned. 

Apart from losing feeling in their legs, this was actually really nice. It was very intimate and, he assumed, was meant to give the time to reflect on each other. Kolivan kind of said that’s what it was anyway. Whatever their hearts and souls becoming one meant.

They didn’t talk too much after that. They just stayed there and basked in their shared heat. Soon the two were breathing in sync and Lance could swear that in the silence he could hear Keith’s heart beating, or maybe it was his own? 

Suddenly Kolivan cleared his throat and held up a bowl filled with wine. “You two have shown your devotion to one another. Share this wine from the ceremonial bowl to solidify your commitment to each other.”

He passed the bowl to Keith who carefully took the bowl and held the rip up to Lance’s lips. “Here. I have to feed you some.”

“Right.” Lance very carefully drank some of the wine as Keith very carefully tilted it back into his mouth. He carefully swallowed, but damn the wine was really strong. When it was his turn, Lance did his best not to accidentally pour too much into Keith’s mouth. When he felt like he had given him enough he moved the bowl away and looked over at Kolivan.

The older man smiled and took the bowl off of him. “Good. From this night forward you two are no longer two separate werewolves running off into the night, but one werewolf with two hearts. May the moon goddess bless you both.”

“... Is that it?” Asked Keith.

“Yeah, you two can get out of the water now.”

Keith and Lance quickly got out of the water. They were cold, but the alcohol made them feel a little warmer. They quickly dried themselves off and got dressed. Keith quickly kissed Lance’s cheek. “Shiro’s taking care of Kosmo for the whole evening… My cabin is pretty close by.”

Lance grinned. He could feel his tailbone tingling happily. “Lead the way Keith.”

***

Keith’s heart was racing. He didn’t know if the bonding ceremony was just as intense for Lance as it was for him. He could hear Lance’s heart beating in sync with his own after a small point in time. It was pretty intense. Keith loved it. Now they were there, in his cabin.

As soon as they stepped inside Lance was kissing down his neck and pulling at his shirt. It made Keith feel giddy. He kissed him and pulled Lance towards the bedroom. The two of them ended up laying on the bed and making out.

With Kosmo being around they didn’t get a lot of time to themselves. He was still a baby and needed lots of attention. Both of them were more than happy to give him all the love and attention he needed, but they wanted to touch and love each other in a more physical manner.

There had been a few times here and there when they ended up being able to touch each other with a little bit of dry humping late at night when Kosmo was asleep. It was nice, but they were both craving something more.

Keith’s hands ran over Lance’s pants, pulling them down and happily squeezing the soft globes of his ass. Lance moaned softly and pressed his hips against Keith’s. Keith grinned a little. “You like that?”

“Y-yeah. It’s been a while huh?”

“Yeah it has. I’ve missed touching you like this. Feels good.”

“Yeah, it does.” Lance quickly pulled at Keith’s clothes, successfully pulling them off completely. 

Keith quickly followed suit and stripped Lance naked too. He paused for a moment to drink in every inch of Lance’s perfect body. His body was always so perfect. Lance just had this perfect charm about him that Keith just couldn’t understand. He was bewitching. Mesmerizing. Perfect. Even more so after their bonding ceremony.

He ran his hand over Lance’s chest, enjoying how Lance’s body would arch at his touch, like a magnet. When Keith’s hand wrapped around his cock, Lance let out a small gasp and lightly bucked his hips into his hand. It made Keith smirk as he moved his hand a little faster.

“F-fuck!” Moaned Lance. “K-Keith I, oh fuck…”

Keith chuckled and took a small bottle of lube out of the nightstand and quickly poured some onto his fingers. As he did this, Lance very skillfully and gracefully moved his leg to hook it over Keith’s shoulder. He always appreciated Lance putting in a little effort. Even if it was just to make the prep work a little easier.

He slowly opened Lance up and relished in the way he moaned and whined. It was adorable and Keith just ate it up. He loved it. He loved it so much. Lance’s eyes were beautiful when they were hazy with lust. They darkened from being a beautiful, mid-day ocean blue, to a stormy sea. It was beautiful. He was beautiful.

Lance moaned loudly and arched his back. “K-Keith! Please! I need you!”

How could Keith turn him down? He very carefully pushed into Lance’s warm, welcoming body. Lance moaned softly and dug his nails into Keith’s shoulders. His clawing drew out a long moan from the depths of Keith’s throat. He was still a little rough with him, but Keith didn’t mind. He liked it a little rough.

Keith slowly started to thrust into Lance while peppering his neck and collar bone with light kisses and small nips. Lance whined and moan, slowly trying to get Keith to move faster. He was more than happy to oblige of course and gave it to Lance just as rough as he wanted.

Lance’s fingers found Keith’s hair and tugged harshly as he struggled to put a coherent sentence together. “I-I fuck! Keith I- Fuck!”

“What is it Lance?” Panted Keith. “Tell me what you need.”

“F-fuck! I wanna cum!” He practically pleaded. “I-I wanna cum!”

“You can do it.” Purred Keith. “Cum for me Lance. Show me how much you love getting fucked.”

Lance groaned as he came. He squeezed unimaginably tightly around him. Keith managed to thrust a few more times before he eventually fell over the edge and came deep inside Lance. His lover moaned softly and loosely ran his hands along Keith’s back while humming contently.

“Heh… We’re werewolf married now.”

Keith smiled and kissed Lance. “Yep. Werewolf married. So you better not ditch me next mating season.”

“I’d never mate with any other werewolf but you Keefy.”

“Whatever you say Bambi.”

***

Meanwhile at Shiro’s place, Adam had tied two socks together and was tossing it around for Kosmo to chase. The puppy was having a blast running up the hall and bringing it back for Adam to throw it again. Curtis and Shiro were sitting on the couch and watched them interact. They were cute.

Curtis chuckled a little and leaned his head against Shiro’s shoulder. “Almost makes you want to get your own puppies huh?”

“... You mean like werewolf puppies or like actual puppies?”

“Either or.” Said Curtis. “Werewolves tend to avoid keeping dogs as pets, since we are pack animals and we kind of see it as disrespectful to have pet dogs. But we do adore them... Kind of like how it might be cool to keep a pet tiger or monkey. You’d have to be fucking stupid to do it, but people do it.”

“Huh, okay…”

“Anyway, you getting that new mattress anytime soon? Rotating on the air mattress sucks.”

“I know. Should be here Wednesday.”

“Thank the goddess. My back hurts.”

Kosmo seemed to tire of the sock game and happily walked over to the duo on the couch while Adam was overly dramatic about being rejected by the pup. Adam was ignored as Kosmo looked up at his uncles.

“Arf!”

“Hello Kosmo.” Said Curtis. “You done playing with Adam?”

“Want to jump up?” Asked Shiro. He moved himself a little and patted his lap. “Up?”

Kosmo had a confused look on his face for a few seconds before he started wagging his tail. “Arf! Arf! Arf! Arf! Arf!” There was a flash of blue and Kosmo was gone. Before the trio could panic there was another flash and Kosmo was on Shiro’s lap looking very smug and pleased with himself. “Arf!”

Adam pointed at the pup. “Um… I know I have awful eyesight and everything but… Did Kosmo just teleport?”

Curtis nodded. “Well, star wolves are meant to suddenly vanish and reappear at the drop of a hat… Maybe this is what it was? Teleportation?”

“...” Shiro sighed and patted the proud puppy. “Well… I would say I’m surprised, but I’m honestly not.”

“Still gonna rip Keith a new one for not warning us beforehand?” Asked Adam.

“Oh yeah. Definitely.”

Kosmo, oblivious to the verbal beating his parents were going to get tomorrow just made himself comfortable on Shiro’s lap and yawned. He was comfy and Kosmo wanted to sleep. He would make a fine pillow.


	44. Months go by

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is is, the final chapter. Hope you all like it. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Over the next few months a rumor started to spread around the town of Garrison. Apparently there was a strange blue wolf living on the mountain. If anyone asked the bush people about it they would just shrug it off and say a wolf might have gotten into someone’s paint. They would keep an eye out for it, but they doubted they could catch it and clean it.

Keith would just end up glaring at Kosmo, who had rapidly grown over the past few months. He was practically an adult now, if not a little dopey still. Kosmo had picked up a bad habit of checking around bins for food during the full moon. Keith and Lance did their best to chase him away, but it was hard to chase down a teleporting werewolf.

Thankfully they had managed to make it to Kolivan’s place before dusk that full moon so they didn’t have to chase Kosmo around the outskirts of Garrison. Everything was business as usual for the pack.

_“And hunting season has started.”_ Said Kolivan. _“You all know the drill, take down and collect any and all hunting equipment. If it has names written on it even better. Some people have placed trail cameras too. Down by the creek on the west side. I’d appreciate it if any domestic werewolves would go with the usual team so if the images are saved somewhere else all they will see is a normal dog and not a werewolf.”_

The rest of the pack were in agreement and quickly ran off. Keith had managed to direct Kosmo up towards the top of the mountain, away from the town, and for once Kosmo seemed happy to oblige. He actually seemed excited to be exploring up the mountain today. He kept looking back at Lance and Keith over his shoulder to make sure they were following him.

Keith sighed a little as he scrabbled over rocks. _“Where the hell is he going?”_

Lance shrugged and lightly nudged Keith over a rock. _“As long as he isn’t going after the bins in the town I don’t mind. Last thing we need is for Shiro to give us another talking to.”_

_“Yeah.”_

They followed Kosmo up to a small outcrop where he sat and wagged his tail. He had grown into one strong, handsome starwolf. Keith quickly went over and sat next to Kosmo with Lance on his other side. Keith kind of felt like a child sitting between the two of them. Even though he had been a werewolf longer than the two of the combined. Heck, he was at least a year older than Lance too… Yes he was still the tinies werewolf. So unfair.

_“The view here is nice.”_ Said Lance. _“You can see Garrison and the next town over from up here.”_

Keith squinted his eyes and huffed a little in agreement. He could see the streetlights from Garrison and beyond that the lights of the next town. It was kind of pretty. Maybe When Keith psyched himself up enough he might go with Lance the next time he needed to go down for something. It was still a struggle for him, but Keith could do it with Lance with him.

_“Kind of pretty…”_

Lance started wagging his tail. _“Yeah. It’s a really nice view. Nice spot Kosmo.”_

Kosmo had a proud look on his face. He looked very pleased with himself. He clearly liked this spot too. He looked down at Keith with his big puppy eyes to try and get some adoration and attention from the pomeranian.

Keith sighed and lightly put his paw on Kosmo’s muzzle. _“You’ve done good there Kosmo. Good boy.”_

Kosmo wagged his tail at the praise. He looked very happy with himself. He jumped off the outcrop and sniffed around the rocks. He was a good boy and wouldn’t stray too far. Keith still kept his eyes on Kosmo. He was almost an adult and did go off by himself for days on the mountain, but always came back. Sometimes with a bone from his latest kill to show off to Lance or Keith. Sometimes if he did really well he would bring back food for them.

It was very sweet and Keith was happy enough to wash off what Kosmo gave him and ate it. At least to humour him. Keith would save what Kosmo gave to him and feed it back to him later that night. Keith had eaten a lot of things, but unlike Kosmo he did brush his teeth.

Lance lied down next to him, happily wagging his tail. Out of the corner of Keith’s eye he could see that Lance had a goofy look on his face. He was thinking something dumb. The wolfhound happily pressed his nose against Keith’s side and lightly huffed against him.

Keith looked over at him. _“What?”_

_“Hmmm, nothing.”_

_“You sticking your nose into my side isn’t nothing.”_ Huffed Keith.

_“Hmm, guess you’re right.”_ He licked Keith’s face.

Keith blinked in surprise and quickly shook his head, trying to get any slobber off his face. Lance always did dumb stuff like that. Keith wasn’t a huge fan of licking. He considered that puppy stuff, but if it was Lance he could deal with it.

_“And you wonder why people still call you Bambi.”_ Muttered Keith. _“You might not stumble as much as you did before, but you still act like a baby.”_

Lance gasped in fake hurt and rolled onto his side. _“Oh woe is me. My lover is so mean to me. What did I do to deserve this? Nothing I say, nothing! I am trying to be a good werewolf boyfriend but noooooooo.”_

_“You’re melodramatic.”_ Muttered Keith. _“Don’t make me hump your leg.”_

_“Weird flex but okay.”_ Lance hummed happily and looked at the lights down the mountain. _“You know, even if you didn’t turn me into a werewolf I think I would have let you anyway.”_

_“Really?”_

_“Yeah.”_ He looked over at Keith and lightly nuzzled him. _“I love you Keith. I really do. You were kind of scary and mysterious, but you were still pretty nice and kind… And you’re really passionate about the mountain and driven about keeping it safe and keeping your way of life. It’s admirable.”_

Keith could feel himself blushing. _“Thanks… You um… You’re nice too.”_

Lance couldn’t help but laugh at that. _“Really? That’s all you got to say?”_

_“I’m not good with words!”_

_“I know.”_

Lance nuzzled Keith a little and Keith nuzzled him back. Keith was slowly getting better with his words, but he was still more of a man of action rather than words. He prefered to show Lance how happy he made him rather than tell him. If Kosmo wanted to wander off tomorrow for some hunting he’d be happy to show Lance just how happy he made him over and over again.

Off in the distance the two of them heard a howl. Someone far off howling away. It kind of sounded like it might have been Adam. He did love howling up at the moon every once in a while. Shiro did tell him he needed to do it further up in the mountain and away from town since it spooked the townies.

Lance sat up and started to howl along with him. This in turn made Keith howl. Then they heard Kosmo howling off in the distance.

Keith quickly looked around and saw a small flash of blue light off in the distance and swore under his breath. _“Fucker brought us here to distract us!”_ He quickly jumped down from the outcrop and started running towards the town.

Lance quickly followed Keith and sighed. _“Damn it, Kosmo is too smart for his own good! He tricked us with a romantic view!”_

The two werewolves quickly ran off towards the town as fast as they could. They loved Kosmo as much as two werewolves could, but they needed to stop Kosmo from doing something stupid. They also didn’t want Shiro to get mad at them for letting their angsty son scare the townies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading this story! It was a lot of fun to write and I'm glad so many people liked it. Thank you everyone that left a comment, kudos, or bookmarked. Heck, just thank you for reading in general. I hope my writing lightened up your day a little. Check out some of my other stories if you feel like it. Hopefully I'll see you in the comment section in some of my other stuff. 
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading. Hope you have a good day :D


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